Nu Takes Next Step in International Expansion With Launch in the United States and introduction of Nu Global
- After thirteen years of building the largest digital bank in Latin America, Nu enters the United States via a full suite of financial products.
- The company also introduces Nu Global, a new multi-currency, high-yield account with fast and free money transfers available across 35+ countries.
MIAMI–(BUSINESS WIRE)–
Nu (NYSE: NU), the largest digital bank in Latin America, announces the start of operations in the United States with the launch of a full suite of financial products designed for customers’ everyday banking needs. In addition to the U.S. launch, Nu also introduces Nu Global, a multi-currency digital account for people with global lives, that allows fee-free, fast money movement across more than 35 countries. These products will be available beginning today; users can sign up now at nu.com to be among the first to have access.
Together, the two announcements mark a strategic step in Nu’s evolution from a Latin American leader to a global digital banking platform.
“This is the next chapter of something we started thirteen years ago in a small house in São Paulo. Since our founding, we have believed that consumer-obsessed digital banking is the future of retail banking globally, and after proving this hypothesis with over 140 million fanatical customers in Latin America, we are excited to start executing our thesis beyond our core region,” said David Vélez, Founder and CEO of Nu. “More than a decade of unwavering commitment to customers, disciplined growth, profitable execution, and a business built to scale is what gives us the confidence to take this next step now. This is the first milestone of a multi-decade journey of positioning Nu as the leading digital bank in the world.”
This new chapter of international expansion builds on Nu’s leadership across its core markets: Brazil, where today it is the country’s largest private financial institution and serves over 60% of the adult population; Mexico, where it is the largest digital bank; and Colombia, where Nu ranks as the country’s fourth largest financial institution by deposits and leads the market in growth and credit card issuance. Each market still has tremendous room to grow, powered by a strong, resilient business model. Nu enters this next phase following a record quarter of performance: customer base grew to over 140 million, its quarterly net income surpassed $1 billion, its return-on-equity surpassed 32%, and the company continued to post increasing customer activity rates and a low cost to serve.
Bringing Nu to the U.S.
The United States is the largest financial services market in the world: U.S. retail banking revenues grew at a 7% CAGR from 2019 to 2024, reaching approximately $1.2 trillion, and are expected to approach $1.4 trillion by 2029, according to BCG1. Despite that scale, banks and other financial institutions charge consumers an estimated $82 billion in fees each year2.
“The combination of our customer centricity and our fully mobile banking model allows us to pass on efficiencies straight back to our customers, all in service of building the best everyday mobile banking solution”, said Cristina Junqueira, Co-Founder and CEO of Nu US. “Our customers will enjoy high yield on their account, a metal credit card with unlimited cashback, and fast domestic and international payments, with no fees and in a single beautifully designed app, backed by award-winning support. We want to earn the place of being people’s primary banking relationship, and capturing even a small share of the U.S. market will be transformative for our business.”
Nu enters the U.S. market with a suite of financial products designed to help customers manage their daily banking. The Nu Account offers a yield of 3.50%3 APY on every dollar, with interest calculated and paid daily based on available balance. Deposits are held at Nu’s partner FDIC-insured Lead Bank4. It also includes a limited edition metal debit card, dedicated savings goals with full and instant access to funds, and the capability to make local and international money transfers in a few minutes with no fees, starting with transfers to Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, and soon expanding to dozens of additional countries.
Customers will soon be able to grow their yield to 4.50% APY on a savings goal of up to $10,000 by pairing the account with the Nu Credit Card and making qualifying transactions.5
Through an exclusive relationship with partner Mastercard, the Nu Credit Card carries no annual fees and offers unlimited 1.5% cashback on every purchase. Customers will soon be able to boost that cashback to 2% by meeting qualifying conditions. Cardholders also enjoy Mastercard World Elite benefits, along with a premium, limited edition metal card.
Nu applied for a national bank charter with the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency last fall and received conditional approval in January of 2026, reinforcing its long-term commitment to the U.S. market. Launching through a partner bank model today allows the company to start serving customers and gathering feedback early.
Introducing Nu Global
“Entering the U.S. is a strategic step in Nu’s evolution into a global digital financial services platform. But building that platform also means looking beyond any single market to problems that are universal”, explains David Vélez. “Today, more and more people have borderless lives, and money is often the hardest part to juggle: multiple apps, confusing exchange rates, long waits, and high fees. That’s where the idea of Nu Global came to life. A product that brings the Nu experience into international money management, with the simplicity and efficiency of technology put in favor of customers at a global scale”.
More than 300 million people6 live and work across borders each year, moving an estimated $800 billion internationally in 2025 alone, according to World Bank data7. On average, they lose 6% of that money8 to often-hidden fees and exchange-rate margins, on transfers that can take days to reach their destination.
Nu Global is a multi-currency digital account that gives customers with international lifestyles a way to manage their money daily: all deposits are converted into digital dollars (USDC) or digital euros (EURC) — stablecoins pegged to the U.S. dollar and euro — earning a daily yield of 3.50% APY and 2.20% APY, respectively. The offering is paired with a virtual Mastercard card that allows customers to spend anywhere in the world at competitive exchange rates with no markups.
Beyond daily money management, with Nu Global, customers can send and receive money across more than 35 countries, with fast transfers free of charge, starting with Europe and Latin America. Integrations with Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and the U.S. are planned for the months ahead.
Customers can also hold and trade a curated selection of digital assets, including Bitcoin and Ethereum, alongside their everyday balances. All of it is managed entirely through the app, backed by multilingual support available around the clock.
Join Nu
Nu’s new products will begin to be released starting today. Users can sign up now at nu.com and those in the U.S. who are among the first to sign up can receive Nu’s limited edition Mastercard World Elite metal cards.
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1Retail Banking Report 2025, BCG. |
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2Payments and bank fees: an $82b balancing act. EY, October 15, 2024. |
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3 As of September 10th, 2026. Rate is variable and may change at any time, including after account opening. No minimum balance is required to earn the advertised rate. |
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4 Nu is a financial technology company, not a bank. Banking services and the Nu Credit Card are provided by Lead Bank, Member FDIC. |
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5 4.50% Annual Percentage Yield (APY) on balances up to $10,000, launching soon. To earn 4.50% APY, you must hold both a Nu Account and a Nu Credit Card with 3 or more eligible card transactions in the last 34 days; otherwise, the standard 3.50% APY applies. Balances above $10,000 earn 3.50% APY. No minimum balance is required to earn 4.50% or 3.50% APY. 3.50% APY accurate as of September 10, 2026. |
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6International Migrant Stock 2024, UN. January 2025. |
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7Personal remittances, received (current US$) based on MF balance of payments data, International Monetary Fund (IMF); Staff estimates, World Bank ( WB ), World Bank. |
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8Remittance Prices Worldwide, World Bank. |
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KEYWORDS: Florida New York Latin America North America United States Brazil South America
INDUSTRY KEYWORDS: Banking Other Professional Services Professional Services Finance
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