Brazil fintech firm Nubank arrives in Mexico

Brazilian fintech firm Nubank opened its first office in Mexico yesterday, an initial step in a potential expansion into other Latin American countries , a company executive said.

Nubank

, a six-year-old startup that has raised USD $400 million from investors such as China’s Tencent Holdings Ltd, Sequoia Capital, Tiger Global Management , and Kaszek Ventures , will start operating in Mexico with 20 employees, Nubank executive and co-founder Cristina Junqueira said.

Junqueira said the digital bank , which will use the name Nu in Mexico, plans to start issuing credit cards during the second half of the year. Nubank says it has 8.5 million clients in Brazil , mainly credit card holders .

Investors

see Mexico as an attractive market for fintech because a large number of Mexicans don't have bank accounts or credit cards but has good mobile internet coverage. Similar conditions contributed to fintech growth in Brazil in recent years.

Mexico City-based fintech investor Manolo Atala said Mexico would be a good growth opportunity for Nubank, since the country has low credit card penetration and no other fintech is currently offering the same services but he warned that interest rates charged by traditional banks to retail customers are not as high in Mexico as they are in Brazil, which would make the competition for new competitors like Nubank tougher.

Financial inclusion is key to eradicate inequality in Mexico

gm