Nubank announces first product launch in Mexico

Contxto – Pay attention, people. From now on, everything related to Nubank in Mexico will be named after Nu, its Mexican subsidiary. As of today, Nu has announced its first Mexican product launch following its arrival.

With a deep aversion to complexity, inefficiencies and abusive commissions, Nu arrived in Mexico to improve its restrictive credit culture. 

With this, it’s launching its first international credit card backed by Mastercard. In fact, this product promises to deliver a hassle-free experience, transparency and exceptional customer service. Trust me on this one, nothing is worse than dealing with traditional credit card issuers. 

Allegedly, Nu will remove the small letters and hidden commissions for users seeking a more pleasant banking experience. This is most likely all of us who have yet to convert to alternative banking. 

“At Nu, we want to help free customers from the problems they face with the financial services that currently exist in Mexico and empower them to recover the control of their money,” said Emilio González, General Director of Nu México.

“We are sure that our card will give users an experience that will be free from frustrations, with them at the center of our decisions and above all, attending to them as we all I would like to be taken care of.”

Data time

Now, let’s jump into some stats for the data wonks out there. Based on the third National Survey of Financial Inclusion performed by INEGI in 2018, only 8.3 million people between 18 and 70 had access to a credit card, according to a Nubank press release.

While more than 63 percent of the Mexican population owned a smartphone, the same report said that only 22 percent of those 8.3 million credit card holders used digital banking accounts.

Right now, there’s a waiting list for this anticipated Nu product through the company’s site. You know, FOMO (fear of missing out) is a great growth strategy. Users can apply before the company personally follows up with each request. 

Nu intends to review each case and distribute requests over the next few months. Anyways, it is great timing for me to experiment with Nu’s card. To be honest, I just canceled all of my traditional banking credit cards. I’m hoping this is the one I’ve been looking for.

According to a recent press release, this waiting list will allow the scaleup to better control user growth. This way, it will ensure a better experience for everybody.

“Registering on our waiting list is a very simple step to join our revolution and free yourself from poor financial services,” said Gonzalez. “Our offer is clear – free of complexity and bureaucracy, an amazing experience, without branches and exceptional customer service available 24/7.”

What’s so cool about this Nu card?

Well, apart from allegedly offering below-average interest rates, it will be the only GOLD card without annuity in the market. Transparency is one of Nu’s main values as well. Accordingly, there will be no hidden clauses or incomprehensible small writing that’s almost impossible to decipher among average consumers. 

Emphasizing its superb customer service, the company claims to have acquired over 12 million clients in Brazil due to the ease of opening an account and reliable customer service. A highly-qualified team answers clients’ questions and promptly resolves issues.

Ultimately, the Nu credit card will allow users to control their finances over the secure platform. Once it has been authorized, request and card activation only take a few minutes. Everything can also be done straight from the mobile app. 

Nu’s proprietary technology allows it to monitor and protect transactions originating from the platform. With this, it also provides support from Mastercard’s security protocol. 

“With Mastercard, we predict the participation of new players in the market,” said Laura Cruz, General Director of Mastercard Mexico. “We are very excited to jointly undertake this new expansion project to Mexico.”

Through Nu, more Mexicans can benefit from digital payment methods and the contactless payment technology leveraging the Mastercard Network, in addition to having worldwide acceptance and global safety standards.

Nubank is now the largest challenger bank in the world and allegedly one of the most valuable scaleups in the region. Speculations say it’s already a decacorn after raising a US$400 million Series F led by TCV. Also, it has also been rapidly growing its Mexico team since it premiered in May.

-VC