Why Is Nubank Launching in the United States?

David Vélez says Nubank is launching in the United States because digitally native companies solve cost, access, and intelligence better than branch banks, and the US market is still dominated by a few incumbent banks.

Most people still see Nubank as a Brazil or Latin American neobank. The 2013 seed deck had nothing specific about Brazil or Latin America. The past 13 years proved the model in Latin America. Nubank is now the largest private financial institution on the entire continent, with the highest net promoter score and the highest return of equity in a country like Brazil. The next step is a multi-decade vision of taking the model global. The United States is the biggest market in the world. Strong neobanks and fintechs will compete there, but most banking in the United States still happens through branches, as if video and media still happened through blockbusters. Banks still charge a lot and pay zero yield to fund physical infrastructure. Nubank is also launching a stablecoin-backed account in upwards of 35 countries.