LemFi has suspended its services in Ghana in response to BoG's regulatory action

LemFi, an international money transfer company, has announced that it has suspended its services to Ghana. The firm, which was previously referred to as Lemon Finance, has made that decision in response to the recent regulatory actions by the country’s central bank.

About a week ago, the Bank of Ghana (BoG) suspended several international money transfer companies including LemFi, Wise, XOOM, and Zeepay from sending remittances to the nation. This is in an effort to enforce the Payment Systems and Services Act, 2019 (Act 987).

According to the central bank, the listed companies are operating without the needed authorization or license to operate as payment service providers or electronic money issuers in Ghana. Besides, it purports that the firms have violated the country’s law prohibiting the use of foreign currency as a medium of exchange within the country.

In response to BoG’s decision, LemFi has indicated that their customers will not be able to send money to banks and mobile money in the western African country. In a statement released via a post on its X account, the company further stated, “If anything changes in the future, you will be the first to know”.

LemFi was launched in 2020 with the goal of enabling immigrants to have better access to various financial services. In addition to Ghana, the startup facilitated low-cost and seamless remittances to Kenya and Nigeria. It has since expanded to the UK while extending its reach to an extra 10 African remittance corridors.

About three months ago, the startup secured $33 million its Series A funding round. With the acquired amount, it intends to expand to Europe, Asia, the US, and the Middle East. Besides, it is set to develop new offerings that are aligned to the needs of its target market.