Nubank has received conditional approval from the US Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national bank, facilitating the fintech’s ability to offer deposits, loans, credit cards, and digital asset custody in the United States.
This approval allows Nubank to transition into the bank organization phase, where it will need to meet capitalization requirements and gain further approvals from both the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation and the Federal Reserve before commencing operations.
As per a company announcement issued on Friday, the new US bank will be led by co-founder Cristina Junqueira, with former Central Bank of Brazil president Roberto Campos Neto assuming the role of board chair. Nubank aims to fully capitalize and operationalize the bank within the next 18 months, contingent upon regulatory approval.
Nubank predominantly functions in Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia, serving over 127 million customers combined. Founded in 2013, the company has been publicly traded on the New York Stock Exchange since 2021.
Recently, Nubank has made strides to venture into digital assets. The company entered the crypto market in 2022 through a partnership with Paxos, enabling users to buy, sell, and hold cryptocurrencies directly via its app. At that point, Nubank also revealed intentions to allocate about 1% of its net assets to Bitcoin.
In March, Nubank expanded its crypto offerings within Brazil by incorporating Cardano, Near Protocol, Cosmos, and Algorand into its trading options, increasing the total supported tokens to 20.
In September, it declared plans to test stablecoin payments pegged to the dollar, linked with credit card transactions, as part of efforts to better integrate digital assets with traditional banking services.
Fintechs and Crypto Firms Seeking US Banking Licenses
Nubank’s initiative to secure a US banking charter reflects a larger trend among fintech and cryptocurrency companies pursuing regulated banking licenses.
Stablecoin issuer Circle and crypto entity Ripple Labs obtained conditional approval from the OCC in December to establish US national trust banks. The OCC also authorized the transitions of BitGo Bank & Trust, Fidelity Digital Assets, and Paxos Trust Company into national trust banks.
On January 23, crypto-friendly fintech Revolut announced plans to apply for a US banking license while being valued around $75 billion after a share sale in November.
