Rumors float that Nubank plans to land in Colombia

Contxto – Although Nubank is known by many for its Brazilian roots, the company’s CEO, David Vélez, is actually Colombian. Now, he may be bringing his unicorn to his native country.

In Summary 

Yesterday rumors surfaced that the São Paulo-based company will launch in Colombia. By now, many of you are probably picking your jaw up from the floor since it feels like only yesterday when Latin America’s most famous and largest challenger bank expanded to Mexico and Argentina.

Where it lands next is still a mystery. Notwithstanding, it’s evident that Nubank is in the process of increasing its regional presence. Since beginning in 2013, Nubank has become the world’s largest digital bank outside of Asia. Today, it has over 4 million customers and valued at over US$1 billion.

In-Depth

With a new country comes a new subsidiary, supposedly Nu Colombia. Based on one report, Nubank will specifically provide QR code payment platforms and portfolio purchases to the Colombian market.

Not on the agenda is financial intermediation and raising funds in this new location, according to Valora Analitik. 

Unbanked Colombian will likely benefit from alternative credit card and digital bank services. Despite the Colombian fintech industry is still developing, there are other contenders such as ADDI providing instant credit approvals. Based on the size of Nubank, though, perhaps smaller entities won’t stand a chance.

There’s no doubt that this is big potential news. Nonetheless, Brazil, Mexico and Argentina will remain the most important areas for the company, according to a correspondence.

“Nubank is continuously seeking opportunities to expand the access of more and more people to relevant and uncomplicated financial services,” said Josafat Vargas, the PR Manager for Nubank Mexico.

In other words, he neither confirmed nor denied this development.

“The (most) natural movement for the company is to explore possibilities in Latin America,” added Vargas. “However, at the moment the focus of (Nubank) operations remains in Brazil, as well as Mexico and Argentina, where we still have a lot to offer and contribute.”

Last month, sources also reported that Nubank was discussing a potential US$1 billion investment with SoftBank.

-JA