Brazil FinTech Nu Pagamentos SA, also known as Nubank, is preparing to launch small business digital accounts, Reuters reported on Tuesday (July 16).
First launched as a credit card issuer, Nubank has been expanding in recent years to enter into the payments and lending markets. The company has also focused on entering new markets around Latin America, including Argentina and Mexico.
According to the publication, Nubank is letting entrepreneurs test out its new small business bank account solution for free.
Small business banking appears to be the bank’s next frontier amid rising competition for SMB and entrepreneur financial services. Reports pointed to PagSeguro Digital and Mercadolibre as two industry rivals that have launched their own checking account products designed for small businesses in the country.
Other banking rivals are entering the Brazilian market to churn up even more competition. N26, for instance, announced its plans earlier this year to step into the country.
Nubank has raised a total of $420 million across seven financing rounds. Last year, Tencent placed $180 million in the company in a round that drove Nubank’s valuation up to $4 billion at the time, making it among the most highly valued private startups in Latin America. The investment also marked Tencent’s first entrance in Brazil.
“We found so much value in partnering with Tencent,” said the firm’s Co-founder David Vélez in an interview with Reuters at the time. “Particularly everything there is to learn about the Chinese financial market. [China has] built the playbook for how to use mobile in the financial services space.”
Earlier that year, Brazil’s antitrust regulator Cade launched an investigation in response to a compliant Nubank filed after it received regulatory approval to become a bank. The company accused some of Brazil’s largest banks of anticompetitive conduct.
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