Brazil-based Nubank offers banking products and services via a web portal and a mobile app, with the application process being done entirely online. It also offers in-app shopping at retailers such as AliExpress, Dafiti, and Magalu. The company serves both B2C and B2B segments and operates in Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, and Argentina. The company initially entered the neobanking space in 2014 by offering credit cards and focused on providing it at low interest rates, compared to established banks. Since then, the company has grown to offer the full spectrum of banking services, which includes checking accounts, debit cards (with ATM access), credit cards (with credit limits as low as USD 10 per month), and loans, following the receipt of its own banking license in Brazil in 2017. Checking accounts and debit cards are offered free of charge, and the company therefore solely generates income from these accounts from ATM and interchange fees.

In addition to its banking products, the company also offers life and mobile insurance products and Peer to Peer (P2P) payment options via Pix (a payment platform introduced by Brazil’s Central Bank). The company also offers a rewards program that enables customers to earn and redeem points at selected merchants. 

Nubank also provides a trading app–NuInvest–through which its Brazilian customers can trade stocks and cryptocurrency, with the company charging ~0.02% per transaction. Additionally, the company plans to launch its own cryptocurrency –Nucoin–as part of its new rewards program in the first half of 2023. The token will be distributed free of charge to customers and is built on the layer-2 scaling network Polygon .

The company has expanded its presence to Colombia and Mexico, although products offered in these two markets remained limited to credit cards as of April 2022. In July 2022, Nubank applied to the Colombian regulator for a license to form a financial company as part of its strategic plan to become a leading digital financial service provider in the country.

Key customers and partnerships

In September 2021, the company further expanded its loan offering by partnering with Creditas, a lending platform in Brazil, through which Creditas would offer loans to Nubank customers. As of September 2022, the company had around 70.4 million customers, of which 57.4 million (or 81.5%) were monthly active customers.

Funding and financials

In January 2021, Nubank raised USD 400 million in Series G funding led by GIC, Whale Rock, and Invesco. In June 2021, the company announced an extension of USD 750 million to its Series G round led by Berkshire Hathaway, bringing the total raised in this round to USD 1.15 billion and valuing the company at USD 30 billion. Nubank has planned to use the funding to expand its product offering in Brazil while growing its operational presence in its overseas markets.

In December 2021, Nubank was listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE) under the trading symbol NJ, raising nearly USD 2.6 billion, at a valuation of USD 41.5 billion, making it the most valuable listed financial institution in South America. The fresh funds were expected to be funneled into Nubank’s expansion into Mexico and Colombia.

For the full year 2021, the company generated a total revenue of USD 1.7 billion, more than doubling from FY2020, and incurred an operating loss of USD 165.3 million.