Nubank gets first green light for US bank, to launch in 2027

Nu Holdings Ltd won preliminary approval to perform some banking activities in the US, a first step by the Latin American fintech to move into the world’s largest economy.

The Office of the Comptroller of the Currency offered conditional approval for a national bank license for Nubank, as the company is known, according to a statement Thursday.

The new entity will be called Nubank NA.

“The approval is not just an extension of our operation; it’s an opportunity to prove our thesis that a digital-first, customer-centric model is the future of financial services globally,” Nubank co-founder and Chief Executive Officer David Vélez said in the statement. 

Nubank now will enter the so-called organisation phase in the US, and should launch the operation in the country within 18 months, the fintech said.

“We look forward to delivering the transparent, efficient, financial experiences already trusted by more than 127 million customers around the world to our future customers in the US,” co-founder Cristina Junqueira, who moved to the US to oversee the operation, said in the statement.

Once a full licence is granted, the fintech will be able to offer deposit accounts, credit cards, lending and digital-asset custody in the United States.

The expansion takes advantage of a window of opportunity in the US, where the regulatory environment has become more business-friendly under the Trump administration. That includes approvals for five crypto companies that got licences, and PayPal Holdings Ltd’s decision to apply for one in December.

Nubank’s licence will mark a major step for the firm, created in São Paulo in 2013 by a group led by Vélez, Junqueira and Ed Wible. 

It will be the first country outside Latin America where the company has a license to operate, as it bets the digital and low-cost model that lured 127 million clients so far can also work in the US.

Company executives have been saying the US is more of a plan for future development rather than a short-term focus.

“While Brazil and Mexico remain our core priorities where most of our resources and execution efforts are directed, we also see transformational optionality in the US,” Vélez said in a November conference call.

An expansion will face some obstacles in the US because the banking market there is much less concentrated than in Brazil, where Nu’s business model first flourished. The instant-payment system Pix also played a role in popularising digital banks in Latin America’s biggest economy, by making it easier to move money through digital channels.

Junqueira said in October that the US unit would first aim at Latin American expats, but also at the overall US public dissatisfied with their banks. She will oversee the US operation once it’s set.