Brazil fintech Nubank raises $400 million in funding led by TCV for international expansion
Nubank, a Brazil-based fintech with 12 million customers in that country, said it raised $400 million in a Series F round of funding led by TCV, marking the first major Latin American investment by the Menlo Park, California based fund.
Besides TCV, several existing investors participated in the round, including Tencent, DST Global, Sequoia Capital, Dragoneer, Ribbit Capital and Thrive Capital.
Nubank, which started out in 2014 with an app based credit card and rewards program, has expanded its product line to include personal loans and a digital savings account for regular consumers and similar products for SMEs and microbusinesses.
"We remain firm in our commitment to fight complexity and give back to people the control of their finances," David Velez, founder and chief executive officer of Nubank, said in a company release. "Even though the technological change has been transformational for most industries across the globe, most banked consumers continue to pay absurd interest rates and fees and receive very poor financial services in return."
The company plans to use the new funding to accelerate its growth in Brazil and finance the company's expansion into new markets, including Mexico and Argentina, where it has opened new offices and plans to launch in the next few months.
In late 2018, the company expanded the functionality of its NuConta digital savings accounts with the ability to make cash withdrawals and debit purchases, which is used by more than 8 million Brazilians.
Earlier this year, the company obtained a license to operate as a financial institution, and proceeded to launch its personal loan business. About 500,000 people have obtained loans from the company.
Nubank now operates in 100% of the more than 5,570 municipalities in Brazil, in contrast to the fact that only 60% of those locations have traditional bank access.
Cover image courtesy of Nubank