Nubank, Latin America’s biggest financial technology (fintech) company, has grown to 12 million customers in its six years in Mexico and is on its way to achieving bank status, the fintech announced on Wednesday.

Nu was founded in Brazil in 2013 and entered the Mexican market in 2019. It has become one of Mexico’s largest financial institutions, providing services to 9% of the population and 25% of those with banking services.

Romina Benvenuti, Nu Mexico’s director of public, regulatory, and legal affairs, said that the figure represents a growth of one million customers in just one quarter.

“This represents a major milestone for us because, first of all, it means that more Mexicans continue to trust our financial services offering and … understand that our products are simple, intuitive, embedded in financial education, and valuable and they are using them,” Benvenuti told the news siteEl Economista.

Nubank began by offering consumers a no-fee credit card, backed by investors that included Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway firm. This approach has appealed to customers across Latin America who could not gain access to conventional banking services.

Approximately 22% of Nu Mexico customers accessed the financial system with Nu, and 36% reported having been rejected by other institutions, according to a recent Nu impact study.

Around 50% of Mexico’s 130 million population does not currently hold a bank account.

Roughly 45% of Nu’s customers are women, and 50% reported earning less than 10,000 pesos (US $540) per month. Meanwhile, four out of 10 customers who were granted a secured card with Nu received a financing offer in their first year as a user, and 60% of customers reported using less cash.

Many of Nu’s customers also reported having greater stability and control, as well as better financial habits.

“This is confirmation that our value proposition, our digital services, are of interest,” said Benvenuti. “There is demand, and we are solving our clients’ financial needs.”

By the end of the first quarter of 2025, Nubank had almost 119 million users across three countries, with 104 million in Brazil, 12 million in Mexico and three million in Colombia.

Nu Mexico operates as a popular financial society (Sofipo), a kind of financial institution which operates with the approval of Mexico’s national bank commission, CNBV.

In October 2023, Nu applied for a banking license from the CNBV to transform into a commercial bank and in April this year, it received its banking license, becoming the first Sofipo in Mexico to do so.

Nu Mexico will continue to operate as a Sofipo as it undergoes a rigorous audit process by regulators to earn the final authorization needed to begin operations as a bank.

With reports from El Economista and Global Finance