Digital financial company NU has been approved to become a finance company in Columbia, allowing the company to expand its product portfolio.
NU Columbia, a subsidiary of Nubank, described the approval as a “significant milestone” that paves the way for the expansion of its product portfolio into savings with the upcoming launch of ‘Cuenta NU’.
This news comes after the neobank announced that it will provide customers access to the USDC stablecoin, issued by Circle in Brazil earlier this month.
Nubank announced on its website that the Financial Superintendence of Colombia (SFC) officially approved its application to operate as a financing company on 3 January.
Marcela Torres, General Manager of Nu Colombia, said: “Obtaining this licence is the result of months of hard teamwork and represents a fundamental step in our journey in Colombia, as it enables the right regulatory framework to launch Cuenta Nu and further expansion of our product portfolio.”
Cuenta Nu is a debits/savings account service that will be available to the bank’s Columbian customers, following its launch. The bank reportedly has 800,000 customers in the country in 2023 who can only use its credit card service at this time.
The Colombian move will hope to replicate its success in Mexico, a country where the bank launched ‘Cuenta Nu’ last year. The savings product helped increase its Mexican customer base to 4.3 million.
Torres added: “Cuenta Nu will help Colombians reach their saving goals and financial plans, and will allow us to broaden our impact to millions of people by saying ‘yes’ to everyone”.
On the bank’s website, Nu explains that it has demonstrated commitment to the country (Columbia) not only through “obtaining the operating licence but also through significant investments.”
The website stated: “The company celebrated its second anniversary in 2023 by announcing a capitalisation of approximately US $150m for the next two years, which, combined with investments made since 2021, totals close to US $450m.
“Additionally, in September, IFC increased the A/B loan it had granted to the company: from the initial commitment of US $150m to a total amount of US $265.1m.”
