São Paulo, Brazil, November 13 – Nubank, the largest digital bank in Latin America, has received approval from the Central Bank of Brazil for its acquisition of Banco Porto Real de Investimentos S/A, announced in July, and will hold a banking license in Brazil. With it, the company will comply with Joint Resolution No. 17, issued by the Central Bank and the National Monetary Council (CMN), which governs the use of the word “bank” by financial institutions. The transaction will be completed in the coming days.
The banking license will join the three under which the company already operates: Payment Institution, Credit, Financing and Investment Company (Sociedade de Crédito, Financiamento e Investimento) and Securities Brokerage Company (Corretora de Títulos e Valores Mobiliários, or CTVM). Adding the new license to the prudential conglomerate of Nu Pagamentos S.A. does not impose additional capital or liquidity requirements.
“Trust is built on transparency and respect for the people who choose Nubank. In thirteen years, we have reached more than 120 million customers in Brazil, and it is this bond with Brazilians that sustains our growth. The banking license continues that path and reinforces our commitment to those who stand by us and to the national financial system,” says Livia Chanes, CEO of Nubank for Brazil and Latin America.
Brazil is Nubank’s main market. This year, the company announced R$45 billion in investments in the country, nearly double the amount announced two years ago. In March, Nubank joined Febraban (Brazilian Federation of Banks), shortly after becoming the largest private financial institution in the country by number of customers.
That scale translates into inclusion and direct benefits for customers: according to the company’s own data, 31.5 million people, about one in five adults in Brazil, gained access to an account, credit and ways to save money thanks to Nubank. Since 2025, Nubank customers have also saved R$134.7 billion in fees and annual charges, money that stayed with consumers instead of going to banks.
Growth has also come with service quality: Nubank has one of the lowest complaint rates at the Central Bank among the country’s largest financial institutions and has won the Reclame Aqui Award for nine consecutive years.