Nu Holdings: Latin America's Fintech Powerhouse Is Just Getting Started

Author: Austin Pinney

In a region where traditional banking has long been inaccessible, expensive, or inefficient, Nu Holdings is rewriting the financial playbook. Nu has recently emerged as  one of the largest digital banking platforms in the world, with over 114 million customers across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. Its mission is clear. To provide access to financial services in Latin America through technology, simplicity, and transparency.

Since its founding in 2013, Nu has grown at an astonishing pace. In just 2024, it added over 20 million new customers, doubled its revenue to $11.5 billion, and earned over $2 billion in net income. This happened all while maintaining a lean digital first model with operating costs well below traditional banks. Nu's platform offers credit cards, personal loans, checking and savings accounts, insurance, and investments. This all happens through a mobile app designed for ease of use and mass accessibility.

What makes Nu stand out isn’t just scale, but rather it’s efficiency and profitability. Despite being relatively young and new, Nu’s return on equity exceeds 30%, and its cost to serve each customer is under $1 per year, thanks to automation and zero physical branches. It’s already the fifth largest credit issuer in Mexico within less than five years after entering the market.

Nu is also turning heads with global investors. Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway and Cathie Wood’s Ark Invest are both major stakeholders, which is an unusual crossover that highlights Nu's appeal to both value and growth investors. Analysts are increasingly bullish, with most price targets for the stock ranging from $15 to $19, compared to its current price around $12.70.

Still, challenges remain. Rising crime rates, regional economic volatility, and competition from local banks could pressure and affect margins. However, with Latin America’s unbanked population still near 50%, Nu has immense room to grow and the operational model to do it sustainably.

In a world where proper finance is not an option, Nu Holdings isn’t just building a bank, it’s building the future of money in Latin America. If its current growth holds, it may become one of the defining fintech stories of this decade.