The year 2026 has barely begun, and the fintech and digital banking market is already attracting attention for being the stage for a series of innovations from some of its main players in Brazil and abroad. And, reinforcing this trend, Nubank is currently making waves in this market.
The company led by David Vélez announced on Thursday, January 29th, that it had obtained conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a new national bank in the United States, Nubank, NA.
“This approval is not just an expansion of our operation. It is an opportunity to prove our thesis that a digital-first, customer-centric model is the future of global financial services,” Vélez said in a statement.
Nu Holdings' founder and global CEO added, "While we remain fully focused on our core markets in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, this step allows us to build the next generation of banking in the United States."
In the statement, Nubank emphasized that, once approved, the national banking license will allow the company to operate under a comprehensive federal framework, paving the way for the launch of deposit accounts, credit cards, loans, and digital asset custody in the U.S.
Nubank co-founder Cristina Junqueira will be based in the United States, where she will lead operations as CEO of the emerging markets business unit. Roberto Campos Neto , former president of the Brazilian Central Bank, will serve as chairman of the board of directors.
"Receiving federal approval for a national banking license is a significant step in our journey to becoming a sound, compliant, and competitive regulated institution in the U.S.," said Junqueira.
Nubank emphasized that it will now focus on organizing the new bank, which involves fulfilling specific OCC conditions, in addition to pending approvals from the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) and the Federal Reserve (Fed), the American central bank.
The company also highlighted that, during this phase, it will focus on fully capitalizing the new institution within 12 months and that the plan is to open the bank within 18 months, as required by regulators.
Nubank submitted its application for a national banking license to the OCC on September 30, 2025. Approval by the agency now opens the prospect of expanding a map that currently includes a presence in the Mexican, Colombian, and, of course, Brazilian markets.
“We are building Nubank step by step, and there is still a long way to go,” Vélez told NeoFeed when the company began this process in the United States four months ago. At the time, he emphasized that this was the company's biggest move to date, and also its most competitive.
In terms of competition and expansion, rivals are also making moves. This week, the British company Revolut announced the official launch of its banking operations in Mexico, where Nubank landed in 2019 and already has 13.1 million customers.
With the path cleared to consolidate a complete banking offering in Mexico – the first country outside of Europe to host an operation by the company – Revolut , which has a total customer base of over 70 million, compared to Nubank's 127 million, has expanded its operational reach to 40 countries.
At launch, Revolut highlighted that it had capitalized its Mexican operation with over US$100 million – more than double the amount required by regulation, resulting in a Capital Adequacy Ratio (CAR) of 447.2%.
Back in the United States, another player in the sector that also made waves this week was another Brazilian name – PicPay . The company rang the bell on Nasdaq this Thursday, when it registered demand almost 13 times higher than the book and raised US$490 million.
In the IPO, which was anchored by Bicycle, owned by Marcelo Claure, and attracted funds such as BlackRock, GIC, Columbia, and Fidelity, the company was valued at US$2.6 billion. J&F, owned by the Batista brothers, remained the controlling shareholder.
According to information obtained by NeoFeed , which spoke with investors who attended PicPay executives' roadshows, in this new phase, PicPay will focus on areas such as credit, insurance, and M&As in the sectors where it currently operates through partners.
On its first day of trading on the American stock exchange, PicPay shares were up 1.16% around 3:20 PM, trading at US$19.22. Meanwhile, Nubank shares, listed on the New York Stock Exchange, were down slightly by 0.69%, giving the company a market value of US$90.2 billion.
In parallel with these initiatives and its own expansion strategies abroad, Nubank has also been investing to expand its scope in Brazil. In December 2025, the company announced its intention to obtain a banking license in the country that same year.
