Nu started the year strong and well-capitalized, as the sixth largest financial institution in Latin America by number of active customers while growing profitability, and now aims further. Growing efficiently and sustainably is the goal for 2023. 

In this issue of our newsletter, you will read about our vision for 2023 and beyond; how our Colombia operation has just been boosted with a loan of up to US$150 million from the International Finance Corporation; a feature that allows customers to view their balances from other banks inside Nu’s app, and more.

As the sixth largest financial institution in Latin America by number of active customers and growing profitability, the company is now doubling down on sustainable and efficient expansion for 2023 and beyond. 

Nu is one of the best-capitalized players in the region, with a position of US$3.8 billion, maintaining significant excess liquidity – on September 30, 2022, the company had an interest-earning portfolio of US$3.5 billion, while total deposits were four times this amount, at US$14 billion.

Also at that date, Nu maintained a cost structure 85% lower than incumbents, allowing it to keep costs low while expanding and scaling globally. An important bet on this front has been platformization, by which the company is taking firm steps towards developing a global, fast-growing, and nimble platform that can scale into new segments, new products, and new markets in a much faster and more efficient way.

“The market foresees a challenging macro scenario in 2023. We are prepared, and doubling down on efficiency and focus to keep delivering good results and long-term value to all stakeholders”, says David Vélez, founder and CEO. “The largest financial service providers in the world will be digital native tech start-ups, that don’t have big and expensive legacy structures but instead leverage technology and data to develop simpler, better, and cheaper products for a large customer base while maintaining strong culture. At Nubank, we have the discipline, the scale, the innovation, and the strength to be the leaders of this new generation of financial services.”

International expansion will be supported by a newly-announced loan of up to US$150 million from IFC investment in Colombia (see below). Nu Mexico, with a recent equity capitalization of US$330 million, launched the waitlist for its digital account, which will unlock deposit products in our international operation, a step soon to be followed in Colombia.

In Brazil, Nu’s largest market, collateralized credit is one of the big bets for the year. Product portfolio will expand in this sector, with payroll deductible loans and investment-backed loans as two examples. Another priority is to increase market share across different product verticals, with upmarket at the forefront. Ultravioleta was a successful start, allowing Nu to reach new customers who were looking for a credit card that met their lifestyle and financial needs. Now, there’s room to expand both in customer acquisition and in taking up a bigger slice of these customers’ financial life. 

IFC Loan. Nu Colombia secured a loan of up to US$150 million from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), which will be used to boost the growth of the local operation and expand access to financial services in the country. Currently, Nu is the fastest-growing credit card issuer in Colombia, with 400,000 cards issued in the last 10 months.

Recognitions. Rio de Janeiro elected Nu as their favorite bank in O Globo newspaper’s survey. Nu Mexico was #1 in the Customer Experience Excellence Study by KPMG, which asks more than 5,000 consumers about brands’ integrity, personalization, empathy, and resolution. Meio&Mensagem listed Nu among the ten most creative brands in 2022.

Balance overview. The more than 3 million customers who share their data with Nu via Open Finance (a Central Bank system that allows data sharing between institutions with customer consent) will now be able to check their balances from other institutions without leaving Nubank’s app, aggregating information and giving customers more control over their financial life.

Additional card. Customers can now request an additional card, sharing their credit limit and extending their purchasing power to people they trust. For UV card holders, the option can be especially attractive to share the premium card’s benefits, such as cashback that yields 200% of the CDI and no monthly fee when spending over R$ 5,000 in the month, on one or two cards.  

Crypto. After taking our first steps in crypto, we now broadened the options for our customers with two new coins. Besides Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum (ETH), Polygon (MATIC) and Uniswap (UNI) are also available in the app.

• “Getting to the fair share in every product vertical is the largest growth opportunity we are focused on”, said David Vélez in an interview about the year ahead with TIME. He also spoke to Exame about Nubank’s plans for 2023, highlighting the opportunities for growth in collateralized credit offerings, and international expansion.
  
  
• “This loan reflects confidence in our business model, the solidity of our operation, and the contributions we are bringing to Colombia’s financial inclusion, a country with low financial services penetration and high use of cash”, said David in a quote shared in the Colombian press about the newly-announced IFC loan.
   
• At no extra cost, customers can now request an additional card for someone they trust, sharing their limit and benefits, reports Exame.
   
• Thomaz Fortes, Crypto General Manager at Nu, analyzed the crypto market and the importance of long-term vision when investing, in an article by Estadão about the new offering of Polygon and Uniswap.
   
• Deborah Abisaber, HR Director at Nu, spoke about Nubank’s culture of growth and feedback, as well as our hybrid working model, in an interview with StartSe.
   
• Nu Mexico had more than 50,000 people registering for its savings account and debit card products in less than a month after the announcement, generating buzz in the sector, highlighted El Economista.
   
• Tecmundo published a retrospective of Nubank throughout last year, listing our main launches and our record revenues, leading to breakeven at the Holdings level in Q3’2022.

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