Recent data from the Brazilian Central Bank indicates that Nubank ended 2022 with 75 million customers worldwide and 70 million in Brazil, representing a growth of 39.1%.
A year earlier, the fintech’s total customer base was 53.9 million.
These numbers consolidate Nubank as the fifth-largest financial company in Brazil by customers. In addition, a study by UBS BB based on Central Bank data positioned the fintech as the third largest in the South American country by the number of loan customers, second only to traditional banks Itaú and Bradesco.
The company’s credit penetration — customers with loans over total customers — is 53%.
This could be highly significant for the fintech’s customer rentability in 2023, with loans becoming the most significant investor focus and market demand for this year when it comes to fintechs, according to market experts.
Growing fast in Brazil and abroad
Brazil is Nubank’s primary market. In this country alone, the fintech acquired 19.1 million more users last year.
However, the company has recently been investing heavily in expanding its services in Latin America.
For example, in December, Nubank injected $330 million into Nu Mexico and was also allowed to reorganize its corporate structure to offer debit cards and digital accounts in a country of high potential for the company due to low levels of banking.
And in both Colombia and Mexico, the fintech has been looking to expand its operations and products, preparing its launch of saving accounts along with more than 25 new features.
Outnumbering other fintechs in a problematic scenario
According to a survey by consultancy Sensor Tower, released by Bank of America last week, 2022 was the first year of decline in fintech app downloads in Brazil since 2019.
Still, the company is leading consolidation in the local fintech market, and in 2022 added more customers than the rest of the fintechs combined.
In this context, Nubank has been seen as a sort of “champion” of this challenging scenario for companies in the market, growing in metrics such as active users.
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“Nubank, C6, Inter, and Mercado Pago added more than 18 million monthly active users, while the other names combined lost more than 7 million,” says the consultancy’s survey.
On its blog, Nubank commented, “These results are in line with the company’s plans for 2023, with a strong emphasis on responsible credit (securitized or not) and lending in Brazil, such as planned launches of consigned loans and loans with investments as collateral.”
