La Jornada: Nu will become a bank

Nu, the digital financial firm, reported yesterday that it received the green light from the Mexican authorities to begin operations as a bank.

In practical terms, nothing will change for its clients in daily operations, it will increase deposit insurance for its savers to more than 3 million pesos while for the firm it means offering new products, such as payroll management.

Nu operates as a popular financial company (Sofipo) and the change to a bank implies abiding by the most rigorous supervision in the Mexican system. You have 30 days to complete the transformation. The authorization comes two years and eight months after the institution of Brazilian origin submitted its formal application to be a bank.

In the middle of the week, David Vélez, founder and CEO of Nu globally, had a meeting with President Claudia Sheinbaum at the National Palace. “Nu México received authorization from the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) to begin operations as a bank. With more than 15 million clients, it will become the largest digital bank in the country,” the company confirmed in a statement.

The transformation

In Mexico, it began seven years ago as a financial technology institution and since 2022 it has operated as Sofipo after acquiring the Akala license, a figure under which it can attract resources from the general public.

Nu’s focus is on people and it is a top five credit card issuer, offering returns of over 10 percent on savings accounts.

In the next 30 days it will inform its clients of the transformation process. For them, especially savers, deposit insurance increases to just over 3 million 500 thousand pesos.

“The authorization we received and the growth we have achieved confirm that this model works and has the potential to transform the relationship of millions of people with their money,” said Vélez.

He reiterated that “Mexico is a key market for Nubank and this is a decisive step in our long-term commitment to the country, with a total projected investment of 4.2 billion dollars by 2030.”

Nu indicated that it adds 12 thousand new clients per day and has a presence in 98 percent of the country’s municipalities.