Nubank Ventures into E-commerce with Global Partners

While we have heard of e-commerce companies incorporating payment systems or creating their own ones, such as Mercado Libre, the opposite is also beginning to happen. And now, Nubank has announced that it will add a “Shopping” section to its NU app in Brazil.

In this section users of the challenger bank will be able to purchase products from large e-commerce companies such as Chinese giant AliExpress, the Brazilian Magalu and the Colombian Dafiti.

Nubank also forged a partnership with MobCom in order to distribute Samsung, Motorola, and Xiaomi phones.

Exploring in E-commerce Lands

Nubank detailed that in order to access its e-commerce, users had to access the “Shopping” section within the digital bank’s application.

The company stated that “this is Nubank’s first step in offering non-financial products to our customers; giving access to discounts, coupons, and special prices when making a purchase.”

While purchases will be made on the websites of the allied marketplaces, the process will begin within the NU app to obtain these special benefits.

The bank explained that, for now, the new e-commerce function is in the testing phase and can only be used by some customers. This is in order to learn and improve on its services. However, the launch for the rest of the users will be progressive. 

In Context of Nubank’s New E-commerce

This announcement comes after they stated in August that they had bought the payment fintech Spin Pay, which also supports online purchases through Pix. At that time, Nubank argued that this acquisition could offer more payment solutions for e-commerce.

Also, a few days ago it announced the acquisition of Olivia, a technology and artificial intelligence (AI) company that will help you plan your money spending and saving.

These last two purchases show us that the digital bank is looking to go beyond traditional banking services and wants to get more involved in users’ finances.

So far, Nubank is valued at more than US$50 billion and is awaiting its IPO on Wall Street, which is rumored to be next December.