Brazil’s Nubank receives approval to establish financial institution in Colombia and offer deposit accounts

The Colombian Financial Supervisory Authority has approved the application of “Nubank” to establish a financial institution in Colombia. This was announced by the online banking and fintech company on Wednesday (10).

The approval will allow “Nubank”, Latin America’s largest fintech with administrative headquarters in São Paulo (Brazil), to offer future products such as deposit accounts.

“This milestone underscores Nubank’s long-term vision and commitment to Colombia and will allow it to expand its portfolio of credit, payment, and investment products in the country,” the bank said in a statement.

“Nubank” has been operating in Colombia since 2020, had 211,000 customers in the country at the end of March, and intends to apply for a second license in Colombia in the coming months, a so-called operating license.

David Vélez, the bank’s co-founder and CEO, is a Colombian citizen. He started Nubank after seeing that five Brazilian banks controlled 80% of the market and charged high fees for basic financial products. Vélez was born in Medellin, Colombia. He and his family fled to Costa Rica when he was nine to escape violence caused by warring drug cartels.

On Tuesday, “Nubank” announced that Brazilian pop singer Anitta has stepped down from the board fourteen months after joining the company and will now promote the digital bank as a global brand ambassador.

The fintech company, which is backed by investors including Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, said in an online statement that the singer had asked to leave the board due to her busy schedule.

Born in a Rio de Janeiro favela, Anitta has become one of Brazil’s best-known pop stars. In March, she became the first Brazilian to top the global Spotify daily chart with her song “Envolver.”