LemFi has adjusted its sign-up bonus. If you newly register for LemFi using the link below and make your first remittance of over $100 from the U.S. to China (can be sent to Alipay, WeChat, or a bank card), you can get $20 cash back.
- LemFi $20 sign-up link (register with this link, or download the app yourself and enter JINGOKDA in the referral code field)
Here’s a quick overview of the steps:
- Download the LemFi app
- After entering your username and password during registration, enter code: JINGOKDA on the third page
- Send $100 to China (Alipay, WeChat, and bank cards are supported; any recipient’s account is fine)
- Receive the $20 reward instantly
Things to note:
- If you are not in the U.S., please use a good U.S. VPN or register and complete identity verification using U.S. roaming data with a U.S. phone number (a Chinese passport is sufficient)
- Adding a debit card to Apple Pay for payment can bypass location verification. You can use someone else’s Apple Pay and card
- Important: do not enter a virtual number on your phone (for example, Google Voice), or it may affect identity verification and prevent transfers! Enter a regular U.S. phone number instead
- If you used a virtual number and cannot verify, you will need to register a new account and use a different ID to verify your identity. For example, a passport, driver’s license, or green card can all be used for verification
In addition to earning the sign-up bonus and making everyday transfers, this app can also be used to trigger Direct Deposit for bank account bonuses, which is very useful. Note: don’t casually contact customer service to ask about it—just do it quietly~!
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About LemFi
LemFi is an app focused on international remittances. International remittances make it easy for immigrants in different countries to send money to relatives and friends in their home countries, and also make it easier to move funds held under your own name. The app currently supports users in the U.S., Canada, and the U.K. It has recently entered the European market and is growing rapidly. It can be used in Italy, France, Germany, the Netherlands, and Spain. For U.S. users, the biggest advantage of this app is its low fees. The fee for U.S. dollar to RMB transfers is $5.98 per transfer (over $100) and $6.98 per transfer (under $100). In terms of fees, using LemFi for larger transfers is the most cost-effective. The first transfer gets a very favorable exchange rate, with no monthly fee or network fee. If you transfer to China, it also supports real-time arrival to Alipay and WeChat, and also supports many domestic bank accounts.
Note that LemFi itself is not a bank; it is a financial platform that provides remittance services. In the U.K. and Canada, it operates through licensed payment companies and is regulated by the U.K. FCA and Canada FINTRAC, so reliability should not be an issue.
Sign-up bonus
See the top of the article for the specific bonus and requirements.
- LemFi sign-up link (register with this link, or download the app yourself and enter JINGOKDA in the referral code field)
Here’s a quick overview of the steps:
- Download the LemFi app
- After entering your username and password during registration, enter code: JINGOKDA on the third page
- Send $100 to China (Alipay, WeChat, and bank cards are supported; any recipient’s account is fine)
- Receive the $20 reward instantly
On the next page after creating your account, if there is a referral code field, just enter JINGODKA.
One reader tried it and sent $500; it arrived in Alipay instantly. The exchange rate was very good! After the remittance arrived, the $20 reward also arrived instantly—great efficiency!
Sign-up and verification process
I tried it myself, and the registration steps are quite a few. You have to verify your identity before you can send money. Personally, I feel that the stricter these apps are, the longer they tend to last, because it’s harder to abuse the sign-up bonus. Also, a special reminder: this app checks your location. If you are currently in mainland China, you won’t be able to register, and it will check your location again during identity verification.
- Go to: sign-up link, enter your phone number to download, or search for LemFi directly in the App Store
- Then enter your phone number and other basic info—I won’t go into that. Note that the name must exactly match the ID you’ll use for identity verification later, otherwise verification won’t work.
- On the referral code page, enter JINGODKA to activate it
- You need to verify your email and identity before transferring money
- First, prepare an ID. In the U.S., a driver’s license, passport, or SSN card are all acceptable. LemFi has also added Chinese passports as a verification method, which is convenient for international students who don’t have an SSN or driver’s license.
- After uploading the ID, you’ll also need to complete face verification to confirm your identity.
- Just follow the steps. There are quite a few of them.
- After completing all the steps, your application will enter review status. If nothing unusual is triggered, approval usually comes within 3 minutes; if it does trigger a review, it takes 48 hours. After that, you can start transferring money.
Remittance steps
As mentioned earlier, this app is not a bank, so you first need to load money from your bank into the app before sending a transfer. At the moment, adding funds is only possible with a debit card or with Apple Pay linked to a debit card, and only Visa and Mastercard are supported. One thing to note: if you have a debit card with cash back, that’s even better. It’s basically like getting additional cash back on top of the transfer.
- When adding a card, the app also checks your location to reduce fraud and card theft. This is the first time I’ve seen this kind of verification; it’s quite thorough. International remittance fraud probably happens a lot.
- Then enter the amount and the top-up is complete.
- Then choose the amount to transfer. Their fees are as follows: for transfers over 100, the fee is a fixed $3 per transfer. For transfers under 100, it is $3.5 per transfer
- Select the receiving method. As mentioned earlier, WeChat and Alipay are both collection channels, and the money will ultimately go directly into the linked bank account. Of course, you can also choose the bank account directly. If this is your first time receiving an international transfer, you’ll need to fill in some information in WeChat and Alipay. A prompt will automatically pop up when you receive the transfer, so just fill it in truthfully.
- Most major banks are supported
You can also complete the whole process directly with a single payment; no need to deposit funds first.
- The remittance steps are as follows
- The payment steps are as follows
- The receiving steps are as follows
Transfer Limits
After registration, if you haven’t verified your identity yet, your limit is restricted to $1,000 per month. That can still cover things like sending red packets or urgent transfers.
If you want higher limits, you’ll need to verify. The verified limits increase quite a bit, and it can serve as a primary remittance channel.
- Up to $4,000 per transaction
- Up to $8,000 per day
- Up to $16,000 per week
- Up to $32,000 per month
Customer Service
LemFi also offers Chinese-language customer service on WeChat, which you can access automatically from Help & Support.
If the FAQ doesn’t solve it, just type “human”. In my experience, the response is very fast; if there’s an issue, they immediately transfer you to the technical team and follow up.
Rewards Program
LemFi has now launched a rewards program. For cross-border transfers over $20, you can earn points rewards. Points can be redeemed in transfers, and gift card redemption will be available in the future. The company keeps rolling out new promotions, so if you haven’t signed up yet, you may want to join soon—the first round of promotions usually has the richest rewards.
The rules are: for transfers over $20, you earn 0.1 points for every $1 transferred. Every 100 points can offset $1 on your next transfer. For example, if your first transfer is $1,000, you’ll earn 100 points, which can then offset $1 on the next transfer. That’s effectively an extra 0.1% exchange-rate bonus.
Exchange Rate Promotion
LemFi is currently running a new long-term promotion: when you send money to a bank account, you can enjoy a better exchange rate, and more promotional offers may be added later.
Useful Tips
I’ve spent some time studying how to use LemFi, and it’s actually pretty interesting. Here’s a summary of some useful tips.
- Mismatch-name debit card top-up: I opened an account for a family member, then added my own debit card to his Apple Pay, and it could still be topped up normally. It seems LemFi doesn’t verify whether the Apple Pay name on the payment account matches the actual LemFi name. If you have an extra device and phone number, you may also be able to get the $50 reward for a family member.
- Meeting debit card spending requirements: LemFi lets you deposit funds with a debit card and then send a transfer (or send it back to a bank, as mentioned below), so you can use it to complete the debit card spending transactions required by some banks—all within the app. Just add the debit card to the account or add it to Apple Pay, and you’re set!
- U.S. to U.S. transfers for simulated direct deposit: In addition to sending USD directly to China, LemFi has another hidden use case: USD to USD transfers (just choose USD for both send and receive), which can be used to move USD/cashback rewards directly into a U.S. checking or savings account. I tested it myself, and it gets counted as direct deposit. There are also data points online showing this method works for BMO and Chime dd. Better yet, you can enter any recipient name for this transfer; it doesn’t have to match your LemFi name. So it can help family members without a bank account meet direct deposit requirements. Detailed introduction
Summary
Its biggest strengths are transparent transfer fees and a very good signup bonus. In addition, the app’s security and user experience are quite good, and Chinese-language customer service is available. I think it’s quite suitable as a primary app for everyday transfers. For comparisons with other remittance platforms, see the table below.
Comparison of International Money Transfer Platforms
| Platform | Delivery Time | Fees | Receiving Method | Limits | Quick Take | Sign-Up Bonus |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| LemFi | Real-time | $5.98 for transfers above 100, $6.98 below | Alipay, WeChat, UnionPay card | Up to $4,000 per transfer
Up to $8,000 per day |
High security, Chinese-language customer service, generous sign-up bonus | Get $20 |
| Remitly | Real-time to 4 business days | None (under $1,000, $2.99 per transfer) | Alipay, WeChat, UnionPay card | $2,999/day, $10,000/month, can be increased | Fast delivery, no ID verification required, exchange rate is average | Get $10 |
| Panda Remit | Real-time to 3 business days | ACH $2.99-$6.99, Debit 0.8% | Alipay, WeChat, UnionPay card | $3,000/transfer, $9,000/day | Good exchange rates, very low overall fees, user-friendly interface, smooth experience, solid Chinese-language support | First transfer fee waived + better exchange rate |
| Western Union | Real-time to 4 business days | $0-$2.99 per transfer | Alipay, UnionPay card | $2,500 or $7,000/transfer | Fast delivery, currently no fee for Alipay transfers, exchange rate is average | Get a $20 Amazon gift card |
| Wise | 1 hour to 2 business days | Debit ($1.27+2.20%), ACH ($1.27+1.22%), Wire ($5.41+1.06%) | Alipay, UnionPay card | ￥3.1W or ￥5W/transfer, $10,000/day | Comprehensive features, supports many currencies, transparent fees | Get $600 in fee-free transfers |
Sign-up Link
Get $20 cash back on your first transfer of over $100, using the exclusive promo code JINGOKDA.
- LemFi sign-up link (Register using this link or download the app yourself, then enter JINGOKDA in the referral code field.)
If you have questions or want to share a screenshot to get a red packet, you can join the perks group mentioned at the start of the article