Cross-border money transfer platform LemFi has entered Kenya with an eye on the country’s growing remittance market.
In partnership with Pesa Swap, the fintech says that the platform will seamlessly help Kenyans send money into the country.
We want to say asante Kenya🇰🇪
We have officially launched LemFi in the 254!Thank you to everyone who's made today a success.
Download the LemFi App here https://t.co/YoywMfRKLy and start transacting#UseLemFi #LemFiKenyaLaunch #LemFiLaunchKe #YourWayofBeingHome pic.twitter.com/cY1NYv8rRY— LemFi (Formerly Lemonade Finance) (@UseLemfi) June 6, 2023
Its target market includes Kenyans living in the United States of America (USA), the United Kingdom (UK), and Canada, among others.
“When Africans leave their countries to work, study or live abroad, they still maintain family, business and friendship connections back home,” said Lemfi country manager Kakea Mbacha.
“These connections are often maintained through communication and the need for effective ways to send and receive items and money from home. It is for this reason that LemFi exists.”
Users can also set up wallets using Kenyan shillings and fund their accounts via mobile money.
Subsequently, customers can change local currency to the dollar, pound, or Canadian dollar, depending on their transactions.
“Our services will not attract fees as we strive to ensure that Kenyans in the diaspora can send money home instantly, at the best rates. This is the brand’s promise,” Kakea added.
On his part, Pesa Swap Chief Executive Officer Chris Munyasya said that diaspora remittances have surged in the last financial year with half of the money sent into the country coming from women.
“We need to empower our people to access money transfer services at affordable rates so that they can keep the cash flowing back home, “added Munyasya.
Other international money transfer services in Kenya include Western Union, MoneyGram, WorldRemit, Ria, Transfast, Small World, Dahabshiil, TerraPay, Thunes, and MFS Africa.
According to the Central Bank of Kenya (CBK), remittance flows to Kenya slightly increased by 3.9 per cent to $345.5 million in November 2022 from $332.6 million in October 2022.
The latest figures from the CBK revealed that the country’s diaspora remittances rose by 8.34 per cent to $4.027 billion in 2022.
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