Brazilian multinational challenger bank Nubank has surpassed the 100 million customer mark again, this time in its founding market.
The São Paulo headquartered financial services firm’s customer base now accounts for 57% of the Brazilian adult population, it stated in a recent announcement.
This means that the company has acquired eight million more customers in Brazil over the past six months, taking its total customer number across Brazil, Colombia and Mexico to 108 million.
Back in May, it revealed that it had surpassed the 100 million mark across all three markets, with 92 million in Brazil, seven million in Mexico and one million in Colombia.
“We have 100 million Brazilians who trust in Nu,” said Livia Chanes, CEO of Nubank Brazil.
“This number represents over 56% of the country’s adult population. In other words, the scale that Nubank has reached here in Brazil is very impressive. I am very happy with the trust the population has placed in our brand and our products.
“Here at Nu we work every day so that our customers love us fanatically and the commitment we have with all these customers, and with those who will still become Nu customers, is to continue doing our best, to provide products, solutions and services that are transparent, fair, and reflect people’s needs.”
The success of Nubank and other similar fintech companies demonstrates the appetite Brazilians and other Latin American consumers have for alternative payment methods (APMs).
Demand for these products is much more pronounced among the general public in Latin America than it is in Western Europe and North America, where traditional banks and methods like debit cards remain strong – though the rise of challenger banks like Monzo and Revolut is changing this dynamic.
The success of Pix in Brazil is another key example of this. Having only launched in 2020, the instant payments platform has emerged as one of the country’s most popular payment methods with 150 million business and customer account users in December 2023.
The Latin American fintech and banking landscape will be a key area for global stakeholders to keep a close eye on over the coming years, as APMs and other emerging payment methods continue to define the landscape.
