2023: Nubank’s Year Ahead

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 down 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 a 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. 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. The 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.