Lemfi, the fintech startup serving immigrants across 22 countries, has officially entered the European remittance market with its acquisition of Irish currency exchange platform Bureau Buttercrane. The deal, approved by the Central Bank of Ireland, gives Lemfi a regulatory foothold across the European Economic Area (EEA), unlocking new growth opportunities.
A Strategic Move for European Compliance
While Lemfi already holds a British license from its 2021 acquisition of RightCard, it faced post-Brexit regulatory hurdles, preventing it from directly processing European transactions. By securing an Irish license, Lemfi can now operate across all EEA countries using a system called passporting—allowing licensed financial services providers in one EU country to operate freely across others.
“Rather than focusing on [Buttercrane’s] tech stack or profitability, the acquisition was driven by our need to secure the right regulatory framework for our expansion,” said Ridwan Olalere, Lemfi’s CEO. “We already have the technology; this was a strategic acquisition to ensure smooth and compliant operations across Europe.”
Lemfi had initially partnered with Dutch fintech Modulr Finance to operate in Europe while awaiting regulatory approval. However, securing an Irish license was a faster-than-expected process due to Lemfi’s strong team and prior European regulatory approvals, Olalere explained.
Dublin: The New European HQ
With this acquisition, Dublin will serve as Lemfi’s European headquarters, with plans to hire local staff and strengthen ties with regulators. Given Lemfi’s impressive $1 billion in monthly payment volume across Asia and Africa, the company is well-positioned to compete in Europe’s $64 billion remittance market.
However, expanding across Europe is no easy feat. Each country has unique payment preferences and regulations, making seamless integration a challenge.
“Europe is a big, complicated market with different payment methods, rules, and preferences across countries. We’re optimistic about growth, but it’s a challenging landscape,” Olalere admitted.
For example, in France, Carte Bancaire dominates local payments, while Visa and Mastercard are less common. Adapting to such nuances will be key to Lemfi’s success in new markets.
Lemfi’s Big Play in the Remittance Market
Fueled by a recent $53 million Series B raise, Lemfi is expanding aggressively to challenge competitors in the highly competitive remittance industry. As more immigrants seek cost-effective and seamless ways to send money, Lemfi is positioning itself as a one-stop solution for global remittances.
With its European expansion now in motion, the next question is: Can Lemfi disrupt traditional players like Wise and Western Union, or will regulatory and market complexities slow its momentum?
