On April 25, 2025, Mexico’s National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) approved a full banking license for neobank Nu Mexico. This change allows Nu Mexico to offer more services, such as investment vehicles and insurance, and manage higher capital flows—over US$100 million.
Nu entered the Mexican market with a credit card in 2020. One year later, the Mexican branch became a popular financial society (sofipo). That is a regulated financial entity offering savings accounts and loans to the unbanked population. In October 2023, the company applied for a banking license, a process that has advanced as quickly as possible.
Now Nu Mexico must undergo a series of technical and operational inspections by the CNBV. These will take at least 180 days before full banking operations can begin.
Today, 12 percent of Mexico’s adult population are Nu customers. Of 36 sofipos registered in Mexico, Nu is the largest. It manages 61 percent of total sofipo deposits and 40 percent of clients. Over the past six years, the company has garnered at least one client in 98 percent of the country’s municipalities.
Nu’s success in Mexico illustrates a proven formula for thriving in Latin America: identify an unmet need with high growth potential, navigate regulations creatively, and build a business model that anticipates and mitigates risk.
Identify an Unmet Need with Growth Potential
After disrupting Brazil’s banking industry by offering fully digital banking services to the unbanked, Nu expanded into Mexico and Colombia in 2020 and 2022. Nu’s first product in both markets was a credit card nicknamed La Moradita—due to the brand’s purple color.
Unlike traditional credit cards, La Moradita aimed to onboard new users into the financial system without annual fees, hidden charges, or collection penalties. Users can manage the card’s features through a mobile app. These include adjusting spending limits to avoid debt, changing payment dates, or even paying early to earn interest. Moreover, Nu’s digital infrastructure enables it to constantly refine its offerings based on user data.
In Latin America, at least 25 percent of adults remain unbanked. In large, geographically diverse countries like Brazil and Mexico, that percentage was even higher before Nu entered the scene. Traditional banks often failed to meet people’s needs: their services were rigid and poorly adapted to the income patterns and lifestyles of the population.
Nu recognized this gap as an opportunity: a massive underserved population in dire need of simpler and more accessible financial tools. By addressing these pain points, Nu positioned itself as a trusted ally in people’s everyday financial management.
Navigate Regulations with Creativity
By entering the Mexican market through the legal structure of a sofipo, Nu was able to start operating with fewer barriers to entry and lower operational and compliance costs. Starting as a sofipo also allowed Nu to avoid positioning itself as a direct competitor to the country’s powerful banking establishment.
As of 2024, 90 percent of checking accounts in Mexico were concentrated in five major banks. Nu Mexico’s early focus on financial inclusion allowed it to quietly gain market share by serving the unbanked and underbanked. Now with its transition to a fully operational bank, Nu is poised to break into the top five, propelled by millions of newly banked users attracted to its innovative and user-friendly services.
“Mexico is a cornerstone of our global strategy,” said David Vélez, CEO and founder of Nu. Mexico has the region’s highest GDP per capita, but financial inclusion remains low. The banking sector is highly concentrated, even though tech adoption is widespread.
To promote the transition to a bank, Vélez explained at a corporate event: “We have seen tremendous growth, reaching over 10 million customers, and we have invested more than $1.4 billion into the market—not just for expansion, but to drive innovation and raise industry standards. Our mission to challenge the status quo for the benefit of customers has led us to pioneer the transition from sofipo to bank—a historic milestone that we believe will further stimulate innovation and competition in Mexico.”
Build a Risk-Aware, Scalable Business Model
In April 2025, Bloomberg reported that analysts remained cautiously optimistic about Nu Holdings stock—listed on the New York Stock Exchange. For them, economic challenges in the region and especially in Mexico are a risk factor for the rollout of new products and services. A weak economy can jeopardize consumer demand and increase default rates.
However, Iván Canales, the director of Nu Mexico, asserts: “Our focus has always been on expanding access—to both deposit products and credit. That means our business model is somewhat different from traditional banking.”
That difference comes with calculated risks. Because Nu targets underserved and high-risk segments of the population, its loan delinquency rates are expected to remain higher than those of legacy banks. In recognition of this, Nu Mexico has opted for financial resilience over aggressive expansion. For example, it passed on the opportunity to acquire the Mexican bank Ankala, which was up for sale last year, and instead focused on increasing its reserves.
By consolidating a solid financial pool, Nu Mexico can offer more credit while protecting itself from payment delays. As its user base continues to grow—with the ambitious goal of serving one out of every two Mexicans—this reserve fund is expected to deepen, making the company’s financial structure more robust over time.
A Leading Example in the Region
Nu Mexico’s journey from fintech startup to licensed bank offers a playbook for successfully scaling in Latin America. In a region often seen as high-risk for investment, Nu has shown that a robust user-focused business strategy can leverage risk.
Rather than confronting incumbents head-on, Nu built trust with underserved populations, used flexible legal frameworks to prove its model, and doubled down on transparency and capital resilience to earn investor confidence. This adaptive approach is especially critical in a region marked by economic volatility and institutional inertia.
