LemFi (Lemonade Finance) Review: Is It Worth It?

LemFi (formerly Lemonade Finance) – Africans in the diaspora often face challenges when transferring money to their home countries.

These challenges range from low transaction limits, low exchange rates, currency conversion fees, and high to hidden transaction fees.

Lemonade Finance was founded to address these challenges and make it easier for Africans in the diaspora to transfer money to their home countries.

The app provides a more affordable and easier option for money transfers. Users can benefit from competitive exchange rates, zero fees, and free global accounts among others.

Considering these benefits, Africans in the diaspora can benefit greatly from utilizing Lemonade Finance’s services to overcome the challenges associated with traditional money transfers.

Whether you’re an African in the diaspora or you’re just looking for the best app for money transfers to Africa, you need to know what Lemonade Finance entails before signing up.

This Lemonade Finance Review covers all you need to know to make an informed decision.

Let’s get started!

Table of Contents

What is LemFi / Lemonade Finance?

LemFi is a money transfer company that was founded in 2020. The company is based in Toronto and has offices in the US, UK, and Nigeria. The company recently changed its name to LemFi to reflect its expansion to other countries

LemFi offers a variety of features that make it a competitive option for money transfer services. It offers access to:

Free money transfers
International transfers
Peer-to-peer transfers
Competitive exchange rates
Free global accounts
Money request

The company allows residents in Canada, the US, and the UK to send money conveniently to the following selected African countries:

Nigeria
Uganda
Ghana
Kenya
Cameroon
Benin
Tanzania
Ivory Coast
Senegal
Rwanda

Unlike many other money transfer services, Lemonade Finance stands out by eliminating transaction fees, providing competitive exchange rates, and ensuring transfers are processed within a remarkable ten-minute timeframe.

LemFi boasts of support from over 100 African banks, and its credibility is further reinforced by notable backing from reputable companies such as:

Y Combinator

Leftlane
Flucas Ventures
Microtraction

With over 10,000 customers already on board, Lemonade Finance has gained significant traction in a relatively short period.

How Does LemFi (Lemonade Finance) Work?

LemFi is a money transfer app. As such, you must download the mobile app from the Google Play Store or App Store before using it.

Once you have the app installed, you’ll need to sign up, verify your information, and fund your account using:

Interac e-Transfer / auto-deposit (Canadians only)
Credit/debit card
Bank account

After funding your account, you can start making transfers to selected African countries identified above.

To execute transfers, you need to select the country and currency for the transfer and provide the recipient’s details. Lemonade will take it from there. Transfers are processed instantly or within 10 minutes.

Please note that the maximum transfer limits through the Lemonade Finance app are:

$5,000 per day
$10,000 per week
$25,000 per month

How to Transfer Money From LemFi

When using LemFi to send money, the process varies depending on the destination country.

Here are the general steps for sending money to supported African countries through Lemonade:

Sign in to your Lemonade account
Press “Send money”
Choose your currency and your recipient’s currency
Add a note if you wish to
Press the send button
Provide the account details of the recipient
Tap “Next” to verify the details.
Press “Send”

There you have it!

Before sending the transfer, will provide you with the exchange rate and an estimated delivery time.

Even though Lemonade claims that transfers are processed to the recipient’s account instantly or within 10 minutes, it may take several hours for the transfer to show on the recipient’s account.

Transfer Delays

Many customers of Lemonade have expressed dissatisfaction with delays in transfers, even when the transfer status indicates success.

Although delays are not uncommon with other money transfer apps, it is important to understand the reasons behind the delays at Lemonade Finance.

Lemonade claims to process transfers instantly or within 10 minutes, but this does not guarantee immediate reflection in the recipient’s account.

The timing of the transfer depends on various factors, such as jurisdiction and the recipient’s financial institution’s processes and network signals.

Additionally, recipients may not always receive SMS or email notifications when the transfer arrives, so checking their account balance is advisable.

Delays in the recipient’s account can occur due to factors such as an inactive bank account, an invalid account number, or restrictions imposed by the recipient’s financial institution.

Therefore, it is essential to verify the recipient’s details and contact Lemonade to cancel the transfer if necessary.

If the recipient’s account is active and free from restrictions, patience is required to wait for the transfer to reflect.

If the delay persists, contacting Lemonade is the right thing to do. You can reach out to them by sending an email to [email protected].

Is LemFi Safe and Legit?

Lemonade Finance is a secure and legitimate money transfer app that has gained the trust of more than 10,000 clients since its inception.

The app operates under the regulations of respected authorities in all the countries it serves. It’s regulated by:

Financial Transactions and Report Analysis Centre of Canada (FINTRAC) in Canada
United States Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN) in the US
Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) in the UK

In addition, Lemonade has the support of more than 100 banks in Africa and has received backing from reputable companies such as Y Combinator, Microtraction, Leftlane, and Flucas Ventures.

With its PCI DSS Level 1 certification, Lemonade ensures that the card details of its clients are protected according to the highest industry standards.

Moreover, the company has a dedicated security team that regularly conducts scans to safeguard your information on its platform.

Pros of Lemonade Finance

The following are the main advantages of Lemonade Finance based on the above review:

Zero fees: The app offers free transactions, allowing you to send and receive money without worrying about fees.
Competitive exchange rates: The app provides competitive exchange rates while still being fee-free.
No minimum balance required: You are not required to keep a minimum balance on your wallet before you can execute transfers
Easy to use: It is an intuitive mobile app that is easy to operate.
Free global account: You can save your funds for free in various currency accounts.
Request money: You can also request money from family and friends in over 20 currencies and share your payment link with them.
More than transfers: In addition to money transfers, the app lets you buy airtime, pay bills, and manage everything in one place.

Cons of Lemonade Finance

Below are the main drawbacks of Lemonade Finance you should critically consider before signing up:

Poor customer service: Numerous users expressed frustration with Lemonade’s customer service, citing difficulties in contacting them to report issues such as verification problems, app malfunctions, funding failures, transfer delays, and other concerns.
Low limit: The transfer limits are low compared to other money transfer services. Although they have increased the daily limit from $2000 to $5000, the weekly limit from $5000 to $10,000, and the monthly limit from $20000 to $25,000. This may not pose an issue for individuals who make smaller transfers.
Processing delays: Although Lemonade claims to process money to recipients’ accounts instantly or within 10 minutes, numerous users continue to complain about long delays in the actual delivery of funds.
Hidden fees: Despite the app’s assertion of being fee-free, many customers report the existence of hidden fees associated with funding a Lemonade wallet. These fees are deducted one day after the deposit is made.
Limited coverage: Only those living in Canada, the US, or the UK can send money to Africa from Lemonade. Additionally, they can currently only send money to 10 African countries. As the app grows, we expect it to expand its coverage to include more countries.

How to Open a Lemonade Finance Account

Creating a Lemonade Finance account is the easiest of the entire process. All you need is to follow the simple steps below:

Download and install the Lemonade app from Google Playstore or App Store.
Open the app and sign-up
Confirm your details using an official ID (like a provincial card, passport, residence permit, or driver’s license).

Lemonade will assess your application within 24 hours of receiving your verification. When your account is approved, you’ll receive an email notification.

For further assistance or fast verification, reach out to Lemonade customer service at [email protected].

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Verdict on Lemonade Finance Review

Lemonade Finance is a good option for those looking for an affordable, and easy way to send money to Africa. The company offers competitive exchange rates with no transaction fees, FX fees, or minimum balance on a wallet.

However, it is important to note that the transaction limits are low, supported countries are limited, and there are multiple complaints of transfer delays.

If you are looking for a money transfer company with a higher transfer limit, multiple supported countries, and faster processing, you may want to consider a different option.

But if you are looking for a simple and affordable way to send money to Africa or save in a free global account, Lemonade Finance might be the perfect option for you.

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