Cebuana Lhuillier Pawnshop traces its roots to Cebu. There, French Consul to the Philippines Henry Lhuillier established in 1935 his first of a chain of "Agencias". He then opened several more branches of his "Agencias" in Cebu as well as in nearby provinces of the Visayas. This proved to be a winning formula for Henry Lhuillier as his pawnshop business gained profit and popularity as a dependable and hassle-free alternative for people's financial needs. After years of success in the pawnshop business in the provinces, the Lhuilliers then started to expand their operations in the Metro Manila area. The step towards bringing the service to Manila was finally undertaken by Henry Lhuilliers son Philippe J. Lhuillier.

In 1968, Philippe Lhuillier opened the first Lhuillier pawnshop at Libertad Street in Malibay, Pasay under the trade name "Agencia Cebuana." As the years passed, with the support of hardworking personnel, several more branches were opened in Metro Manila as well as in Northern, Central and Southern Luzon. Soon, branches sprouted in the south - in key provinces like Davao, Cagayan de Oro and Bukidnon. By 1987, the company, pursued nationwide expansion. It adopted the trade name Cebuana Lhuillier. Since then, every Philippe Lhuillier-owned pawnshop branch that opened anywhere in the Philippines carried the name Cebuana Lhuillier. Branches as far north as Aparri and as far south as General Santos were servicing the needs of over 15,000 customers a day.

April 1989 saw the company incorporated and renamed P. J. Lhuillier, Inc. (PJLI) with Philippe Lhuillier as principal stockholder and Chairman of the Board.

In the 1990s, Cebuana Lhuillier continued to dominate the pawnshop industry. By 1994, it had over 300 branches nationwide. This accessibility to the people made Cebuana Lhuillier a byword in pawning.

Cebuana Lhuillier now offer local money remittance services with its Pera Padala; affordable insurance with its AllCare products; cellphone reloading, among others services.

Today, Cebuana Lhuillier is the common Filipino's preferred cash solutions provider.