Nubank’s Triumphant Entry Into the U.S. Market

Nubank (NYSE: NU), the Brazilian fintech bank, debuted in the U.S. market last week by offering savings and international account products. The bank, once Latin America’s largest unicorn and now valued at US$68 billion, sees the U.S. as a natural next step in its growth and internationalization strategy.

Nubank has built its business around a virtual banking experience without fees or physical branches. This model has helped the company, which was founded in 2013, reach more than 120 million customers and become Brazil’s second-largest bank by number of clients.

The bank has also leveraged its brand as a key part of its growth strategy, positioning itself as an alternative to traditional banks by targeting younger consumers and other customer segments that incumbent banks had historically underserved. Nubank has sought to build trust through transparency, a digital-first experience and low-cost financial products.

In the U.S., the company describes the market in some ways as similar to the Brazilian banking market in 2013.

For example, Cristina Junqueira, Nubank’s Chief Growth Officer and U.S. CEO, who recently moved to Florida as part of the bank’s internationalization strategy, said during a press meeting that it took her months to gain access to a credit card in the U.S.

The comparison reflects Nubank’s broader view that the U.S. banking market still has significant room for a digital-first challenger to compete on convenience, cost and customer experience.

Nubank’s Three-Act Internationalization Strategy

Nubank has outlined a three-stage plan for its internationalization strategy.

The first stage is to consolidate its position in Latin America. The second is to expand into additional products in its consolidated markets. The third is to reach a “global digital banking model powered by AI.”

The company has been strengthening its presence in the U.S. throughout 2026, including relocating part of its senior management to the country and increasing its international brand exposure.

In early 2026, the company announced a major sponsorship agreement with Inter Miami CF, the Major League Soccer club whose roster has included global football stars such as Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez. As part of the agreement, the club’s downtown Miami stadium was renamed Nu Stadium under a contract of at least 10 years, with the partnership potentially extending to 15 years.

The sponsorship is part of a broader international branding strategy. Other major partnerships involving Nubank in 2026 included sponsorships with the Mercedes-AMG Petronas Formula One Team and IRONMAN.

The strategy places Nubank’s brand directly in front of international audiences while strengthening its visibility in the U.S., where the company is seeking to establish itself beyond the Latin American communities that have traditionally been its core international customer base.

The company is currently present in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia. Its U.S. launch provides not only access to the American market but also an opportunity to build infrastructure for global accounts and potentially serve customers across multiple markets through a single digital banking platform.

Nubank’s U.S. Strategy

To begin its U.S. expansion, Nubank launched two main products.

The first is a U.S. Nu Account, which follows the model of its Latin American accounts. The account is free and offers earnings on cash deposits, with no fees for transfers. It offers a 3.5% return on cash deposits, rising to 4.5% for customers who maintain more than US$10,000.

The product could be particularly appealing to Latin American customers living in the U.S., with fast, fee-free transfers to Mexico, Brazil and Colombia.

The bank is also partnering with Lead Bank to provide a Global Account. Lead Bank provides banking infrastructure and access to the U.S. banking system for other financial companies, including British fintech Revolut.

Nubank’s international offering also includes an account with earnings on cash balances and support for more than 35 currencies. Customers can also access cryptocurrency trading, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, as well as other digital assets.

The company is also offering digital cards for international transactions without foreign-exchange margins, further positioning the account as a global financial product rather than a traditional U.S. bank account.

With these products, Nubank is building an international banking proposition that extends beyond its original Latin American markets, with customer support available 24 hours a day in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, German and Italian.

The company says there are more than 3 billion people worldwide without access to banking services. With its new model, Nubank aims to reach an additional 100 million to 150 million customers, according to David Vélez, Founder and Chief Executive Officer (CEO).

The strategy is based on building a Nubank business model that can “travel” after proving successful not only in Brazil but also in Mexico and Colombia.

The company is now targeting larger markets while continuing to develop its international operations.

A Different Economics of Banking

According to Vélez, Nubank sees a significant opportunity in the economics of the U.S. banking system.

He said that between 60% and 70% of deposits in the U.S. banking system do not earn interest. Among interest-bearing deposits, the average rate is 0.4%, while interest rates in the country range between 4.5% and 5%.

In addition, bank customers in the U.S. pay an average of between US$5 and US$15 per month in fees, according to Vélez.

Nubank’s strategy is to use its digital structure to reduce those costs while passing part of the resulting efficiency back to customers through higher returns, lower fees and a simpler banking experience.

Cristina Junqueira, Nubank’s Chief Growth Officer and U.S. CEO, said the American banking industry still involves more paperwork than in any other developed country, creating an opportunity for a company focused on efficiency.

Junqueira argues that Nubank’s operating structure is significantly more compact than that of traditional banks.

In Brazil, she said, a bank serving approximately 100 million customers can have around 100,000 employees. In the U.S., a bank with approximately 80 million customers can have around 400,000 employees.

Nubank, by comparison, has reached more than 140 million customers in Latin America with a workforce of approximately 10,000 people.

“The fully mobile banking model allows us to pass efficiencies directly back to our customers,” Junqueira said.

The difference in operating structures is central to Nubank’s approach to the U.S. market, where the company sees an opportunity to apply its digital model to a banking system with a significantly larger operating structure.

U.S. Customers Could Have a Larger Impact on Nubank’s Economics

Another factor attracting Nubank’s management to the U.S. market is the difference in average revenue per customer.

Nubank’s average revenue per active customer, or ARPAC, is significantly higher in the U.S. than in Brazil. This means that the same number of customers could potentially generate substantially more revenue in the American market.

According to Vélez, 10 million customers in the U.S. could have an economic value comparable to 100 million customers in Brazil.

That difference could have significant implications for Nubank’s long-term financial profile if the company succeeds in scaling its U.S. operation.

Under the company’s growth thesis, capturing around 5% of the U.S. market could potentially double Nubank’s valuation.

The company would be able to combine the scale it has already achieved in Latin America with the higher revenue potential of customers in a more developed financial market.

At the same time, Nubank is continuing to pursue growth in Latin America, where it sees opportunities to increase revenue from its existing customer base.

“Our ARPAC [average revenue per customer] in Brazil is US$17, compared with US$45 for incumbent banks. We can still double or triple Nubank just in Brazil,” Vélez said.

This creates two parallel growth opportunities: increasing the value generated by Nubank’s existing Latin American customer base while expanding into a U.S. market where revenue per customer could be substantially higher.

Nubank’s Unicorn Success Story

Nubank was founded in 2013 by three partners: David Vélez of Colombia, Cristina Junqueira of Brazil and Edward Wible of the United States.

Operating from a small house in São Paulo, the fintech bet on a fully digital banking model without physical branches and centered around a mobile app.

The company’s growth was significant in Brazil’s well-established banking sector. In 2021, Nubank went public on the New York Stock Exchange with a valuation of US$41.5 billion and quickly became one of Brazil’s largest banks, surpassing established institutions such as Itaú Unibanco (NYSE: ITUB), Bradesco (NYSE: BBD) and Banco do Brasil (OTC: BDORY).

Nubank is now Brazil’s second-largest bank by number of customers, with 121 million clients, behind only state-owned Caixa Econômica Federal, which has 158 million customers and is responsible for a significant share of government-related payments, including social security benefits.

The company’s growth has also extended beyond Brazil. Its internationalization strategy began in 2019, and Nubank now has more than 20 million customers outside Brazil, in markets as Mexico and Colombia.

The expansion into the U.S. represents a natural next step for the company as it seeks to reach Latin American communities in the country while also targeting customers with higher average incomes.

In September 2025, Nubank began the process of entering the U.S. banking market by submitting an application for a national bank charter to the OCC (Office of the Comptroller of the Currency), the U.S. government agency responsible for regulating and supervising national banks.

The company is currently operating in the U.S. through a partnership with Lead Bank, which provides banking infrastructure and licensing while Nubank awaits approval of its own charter. Lead Bank also provides similar services to other banks and fintech companies, including Revolut.

Nubank’s U.S. strategy therefore represents more than a geographic expansion.

The company is seeking to take a business model developed in Brazil and expanded into Latin America into one of the world’s largest financial markets.

The U.S. expansion gives Nubank an opportunity to apply its digital banking model to a market with a different competitive and economic structure while continuing to expand its customer base and product offering across its existing markets.

For Nubank, the U.S. market represents another step in its broader effort to expand beyond its Latin American origins and build a global digital banking platform.