# Nubank (Nu Holdings): Competitors and alternatives Source: https://www.bankingnewsai.com/fintech/nubank/competitors Last updated: Nov 2, 2026 *Part of the [Nubank (Nu Holdings) AI strategy profile](https://www.bankingnewsai.com/fintech/nubank).* ## Who are Nubank's competitors? Nubank names its rivals business line by business line in its FY2025 Form 20-F, filed April 8, 2026. In Brazilian consumer credit they are the five large banks: Itaú Unibanco, Bradesco, Santander Brasil, Caixa Econômica Federal and Banco do Brasil. In investments it adds BTG Pactual, Banco Inter, C6 and XP; in payments, Mercado Pago, PicPay, PagSeguro and StoneCo. The incumbents are larger lenders: Itaú reported a credit portfolio of R$ 1,522 billion at June 2026. The closest digital rivals are Mercado Pago, whose fintech business reached 88 million monthly active users in Q2 2026, Inter&Co, with 45.3 million total clients, and PicPay, with 70.4 million accounts; Nu had 139 million customers at June 30, 2026. In Mexico the 20-F says Nu became one of the top new credit card issuers, surpassing Banco Azteca, Banorte, Santander Mexico, HSBC and BanCoppel; Nu México began operating as a bank on August 6, 2026. Revolut opened a Mexican bank in January 2026, and Forbes says Nu's September 2026 US launch puts it in direct competition with Revolut there, alongside Chime, which has 10 million active customers. Rivals are investing in AI too: Itaú agreed in October 2026 to buy AI start-up NeoSpace for 2.925 billion reais, Inter's AI agent Seven has 6 million active users, and PicPay uses OpenAI's ChatGPT in customer service. Nu's 20-F also warns that open finance data-sharing may make it easier for competitors to offer its customers better credit terms. ([U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1691493/000129281426002166/nuform20f_2025.htm), [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1132597/000113259726000217/announcementtothemarket-.htm), [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1099590/000109959026000021/meli-20260805xex991.htm), [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1864163/000186416326000065/interco2q26earningsrelea.htm), [Banking Dive](https://www.bankingdive.com/news/picpay-cfo-andre-cazotto-ipo-brazil-election-payroll-fraud-allegation/873437/), [Nu](https://nu.com/en/newsroom/company/nu-holdings-ltd-reports-second-quarter-2026-financial-results), [Nu](https://nu.com/en/newsroom/company/nu-mexico-to-operate-as-a-bank-on-august-6), [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/revolut-launches-full-banking-operations-mexico-first-expansion-outside-europe-2026-01-27/), [Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2026/09/10/nubank-comes-to-the-us-with-a-big-bet-on-word-of-mouth/), [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazils-itau-agrees-buy-ai-startup-neospace-589-million-2026-10-26/)) ## What does Nubank's 20-F say about its competition? "Specifically, we face competition in the consumer credit, investment, payments and insurance segments. Our main competitors in the Brazilian consumer credit space include Itaú Unibanco S.A., Banco Bradesco S.A., Banco Santander (Brasil) S.A., Caixa Econômica Federal and Banco do Brasil S.A. In the Brazilian investment segment, in addition to certain of our competitors in the consumer credit space, our main competitors include Banco BTG Pactual S.A., Banco Inter S.A., Banco C6 S.A. and XP Inc. In the Brazilian payments space, in addition to certain of our competitors in the consumer credit and investment spaces, we face competition from MercadoPago Instituição de Pagamento Ltda., PicPay Instituição de Pagamento S.A., PagSeguro Digital Ltd. and StoneCo Ltd., among others." (Form 20-F for 2025, risk factor on competition, filed April 8, 2026.) ([U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1691493/000129281426002166/nuform20f_2025.htm)) "Many of our competitors, in particular traditional banks or competitors that are affiliated with traditional banks, have substantially greater financial, operational and marketing resources than we do." The 20-F adds that Nu has relied primarily on low-touch organic customer acquisition, including an unpaid direct referral method, which "could put us at a competitive disadvantage compared to competitors with high-touch customer acquisition models or greater marketing resources". ([U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1691493/000129281426002166/nuform20f_2025.htm)) On open finance: "As participants of open finance, we are required to share standardized data related to our customers, service channels, products and services, which make it easier for other market participants to compete with us." Further implementation "may make it easier for competitors to offer better credit terms and conditions, enabling customers to move such financial obligations from our platform to other competing platforms". ([U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1691493/000129281426002166/nuform20f_2025.htm)) On Mexico, the 20-F says Nu is "one of the top new credit card issuers in the country, surpassing long-established players such as Banco Azteca, Banorte, Santander Mexico, HSBC and BanCoppel, and becoming the third-largest regulated financial institution in terms of customers, according to CNBV." ([U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1691493/000129281426002166/nuform20f_2025.htm)) ## Who are Nubank's main competitors, line by line? One row per competitor or group named in the 20-F or in the press on Nu's newer markets. Scale figures are each company's own, for the period shown; they use different measures and currencies and are not one series. A dash means no sourced figure was found. | Competitor | Where they compete | Dated scale figure | How they compare on AI | Sources | Sources | | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Itaú Unibanco | Brazilian consumer credit and investments; named first among Nu's consumer-credit competitors | Credit portfolio of R$ 1,522 billion at June 2026; recurring managerial result of R$ 12.4 billion in Q2 2026 | Agreed on October 26, 2026 to buy NeoSpace, a start-up specializing in large AI models that had worked with Itaú for nearly two years, for 2.925 billion reais ($589 million) | Nu 20-F; Itaú 6-K; Reuters | [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1691493/000129281426002166/nuform20f_2025.htm), [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1132597/000113259726000217/announcementtothemarket-.htm), [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/world/americas/brazils-itau-agrees-buy-ai-startup-neospace-589-million-2026-10-26/) | | Bradesco | Brazilian consumer credit and investments | — | Built Bridge, a multi-agent generative AI platform on Microsoft Azure OpenAI; an 83 percent resolution rate in digital customer service, per Microsoft's undated case study | Nu 20-F; Microsoft | [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1691493/000129281426002166/nuform20f_2025.htm), [Microsoft](https://www.microsoft.com/en/customers/story/25660-banco-bradesco-sa-azure-ai-foundry) | | Santander Brasil, Caixa Econômica Federal, Banco do Brasil | Brazilian consumer credit; Santander Mexico is also among the Mexican card issuers Nu says it has surpassed | — | — | Nu 20-F | [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1691493/000129281426002166/nuform20f_2025.htm) | | Inter&Co (Banco Inter) | Brazilian investments and digital banking | 45.3 million total clients; total deposits of R$77 billion, up 24% year over year (Q2 2026) | Seven, its AI agent for clients, had 6 million active users (Q2 2026) | Nu 20-F; Inter&Co 6-K | [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1691493/000129281426002166/nuform20f_2025.htm), [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1864163/000186416326000065/interco2q26earningsrelea.htm) | | Mercado Pago (MercadoLibre) | Brazilian payments, plus credit and deposits in Brazil and Mexico | 88 million fintech monthly active users; assets under management of $23 billion; credit portfolio above $16 billion (Q2 2026) | MercadoLibre says human-written code has become the exception in its technology organization; code submissions were up 110% year over year in Q2 2026 | Nu 20-F; MercadoLibre 8-K | [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1691493/000129281426002166/nuform20f_2025.htm), [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1099590/000109959026000021/meli-20260805xex991.htm) | | PicPay | Brazilian payments and digital banking | 70.4 million accounts, up 10% year over year, in its most recent reported quarter (October 2026 report) | Uses OpenAI's ChatGPT in customer service, serving customers with a roughly 300-person call center staff; works with several AI model vendors to cut the cost per token | Nu 20-F; Banking Dive | [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1691493/000129281426002166/nuform20f_2025.htm), [Banking Dive](https://www.bankingdive.com/news/picpay-cfo-andre-cazotto-ipo-brazil-election-payroll-fraud-allegation/873437/) | | Banco Azteca, Banorte, HSBC, BanCoppel | Mexican credit cards; Nu's 20-F says it surpassed them as a top new card issuer | — | — | Nu 20-F | [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1691493/000129281426002166/nuform20f_2025.htm) | | Revolut | Mexico, where it launched a bank in January 2026, and the US, where Forbes says Nu's launch puts the two in direct competition | Over 70 million customers globally (January 2026) | Trained its own model, PRAGMA, on 40 billion transactions, app interactions and financial events from 25 million users across 111 countries (April 2026) | Reuters; Forbes; PYMNTS | [Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/revolut-launches-full-banking-operations-mexico-first-expansion-outside-europe-2026-01-27/), [Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2026/09/10/nubank-comes-to-the-us-with-a-big-bet-on-word-of-mouth/), [PYMNTS](https://www.pymnts.com/artificial-intelligence-2/2026/revolut-stopped-paying-for-ai-and-started-winning/) | | Chime | US digital banking, after Nu's September 10, 2026 launch; Forbes calls Chime the most successful US digital bank | 10 million active customers and a $13 billion market value (September 2026) | AI and automation handle 70% of all of Chime's interactions; its agent Jade assisted the majority of 50 million support interactions in 2024 (May 2026) | Forbes; Banking Dive | [Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2026/09/10/nubank-comes-to-the-us-with-a-big-bet-on-word-of-mouth/), [Banking Dive](https://www.bankingdive.com/news/how-chime-overcame-trust-challenges-deploying-ai-agent-jade/819673/) | ## What companies are similar to Nubank? Revolut: a London-based fintech with over 70 million customers globally, which opened Revolut Bank S.A. in Mexico in January 2026, its first bank outside Europe, and aims for over 100 million daily active customers in 100 countries. ([Reuters](https://www.reuters.com/business/finance/revolut-launches-full-banking-operations-mexico-first-expansion-outside-europe-2026-01-27/)) Inter&Co: a Brazilian financial platform that files its results with the SEC, with 45.3 million total clients and an AI agent for clients, Seven, with 6 million active users in Q2 2026; Nu's 20-F names Banco Inter among its main investment competitors. ([U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1864163/000186416326000065/interco2q26earningsrelea.htm), [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1691493/000129281426002166/nuform20f_2025.htm)) Mercado Pago: the fintech arm of MercadoLibre, with 88 million fintech monthly active users and a credit portfolio above $16 billion in Q2 2026, competing with Nu in Brazilian payments; Brazil and Mexico were its standout markets for user growth, up 38% and 45%. ([U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1099590/000109959026000021/meli-20260805xex991.htm), [U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (EDGAR)](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1691493/000129281426002166/nuform20f_2025.htm)) PicPay: a São Paulo-based digital bank that started out as a platform for merchants, went public in the US in January 2026 and had 70.4 million accounts in its latest reported quarter; its CFO says the aim is to be one of the largest digital banks in Brazil. ([Banking Dive](https://www.bankingdive.com/news/picpay-cfo-andre-cazotto-ipo-brazil-election-payroll-fraud-allegation/873437/)) Chime: the US digital bank with 10 million active customers that Forbes uses as the benchmark for Nu's US launch, which offers a 3.5% savings rate against Chime's 3.75% with $3,000 of monthly direct deposit. ([Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffkauflin/2026/09/10/nubank-comes-to-the-us-with-a-big-bet-on-word-of-mouth/)) Monzo: the UK digital bank that Sky News reported in September 2026 Nu was in early talks to buy; Nu said in a Form 6-K on September 30, 2026 that it is not pursuing a transaction with Monzo. ([Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/zennonkapron/2026/09/27/nubank-wants-to-pay-up-to-10-billion-for-monzo-that-is-twice-monzos-last-valuation-and-115-times-its-pre-tax-profit/), [Nu Holdings via SEC EDGAR](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1691493/000129281426004752/nu20260930_6k.htm)) ## What does the Nubank profile record on this topic? | Date | Move | Detail | Sources | | --- | --- | --- | --- | | Sep 30, 2026 | Nu says it is not pursuing a Monzo deal | In a Form 6-K headed 'Statement Regarding Media Reports', Nu said that 'while we have a great deal of respect for Monzo, the Company is not pursuing a transaction with Monzo', that its priorities remain Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, the United States and Nu Global, and that its capital allocation framework is unchanged. | [Nu Holdings via SEC EDGAR](https://www.sec.gov/Archives/edgar/data/1691493/000129281426004752/nu20260930_6k.htm) | | Sep 26, 2026 | Talks with Monzo reported at £8–10 billion | Sky News reported that Nubank was in early-stage talks to buy UK digital bank Monzo at a valuation of £8 billion to £10 billion, while Monzo's board weighed the approach against a funding round; neither company commented, Forbes reported. At £10 billion the price would have been roughly twice the £4.5 billion set in Monzo's October 2024 employee share sale. | [Forbes](https://www.forbes.com/sites/zennonkapron/2026/09/27/nubank-wants-to-pay-up-to-10-billion-for-monzo-that-is-twice-monzos-last-valuation-and-115-times-its-pre-tax-profit/) | | Sep 10, 2026 | Nu launches in the United States | Nu began US operations with a 3.50% APY Nu Account (deposits held at FDIC-insured partner Lead Bank), a no-annual-fee Mastercard credit card and fee-free transfers to Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, and introduced Nu Global, a multi-currency account, while its own charter awaits final approval. | [Nu](https://nu.com/en/newsroom/company/nu-united-states-nu-global), [PYMNTS](https://www.pymnts.com/news/banking/2026/nu-partners-with-lead-bank-launch-full-unitd-states-banking-suite/) | | Aug 6, 2026 | Nu México begins operating as a bank | After CNBV authorization on July 10, Nu México converted from a SOFIPO to a commercial bank on August 6, becoming Mexico's largest digital bank with 16 million customers as of July. | [Nu](https://nu.com/en/newsroom/company/nu-mexico-to-operate-as-a-bank-on-august-6), [American Banker](https://www.americanbanker.com/news/nubanks-quarterly-income-hits-1-billion-for-the-first-time) | | Jul 22, 2026 | Nubank agrees to buy Banco Porto Real for a Brazilian bank licence | The purchase, which needs Banco Central do Brasil approval, lets Nubank meet Joint Resolution No. 17 on how financial institutions may be named; the licence will sit alongside Nu's payment-institution, credit-financing and brokerage permissions, with no change for its 115 million Brazilian customers. | [FinTech Global](https://fintech.global/2026/07/22/nubank-to-acquire-banco-porto-real-for-banking-licence/) | | Sep 30, 2025 | Nubank applies for a US national bank charter | Nu applied to the OCC for a national bank charter, saying it would eventually offer deposit accounts, credit cards, lending and digital asset custody in the US. | [Nu](https://www.nu.com/en/newsroom/company/nubank-applies-for-u-s-national-bank-charter) | ## Common questions ### Who are Nubank's biggest competitors? In Brazil, the five large banks its FY2025 20-F names in consumer credit: Itaú Unibanco, Bradesco, Santander Brasil, Caixa Econômica Federal and Banco do Brasil. The 20-F adds BTG Pactual, Banco Inter, C6 and XP in investments, and Mercado Pago, PicPay, PagSeguro and StoneCo in payments. Itaú reported a credit portfolio of R$ 1,522 billion at June 2026. ### What companies are similar to Nubank? The closest are digital banks and fintech platforms of similar design: Revolut, which opened a Mexican bank in January 2026; Inter&Co and PicPay in Brazil; Mercado Pago, MercadoLibre's fintech arm with 88 million monthly active users; Chime in the US; and Monzo in the UK, which Nu said in September 2026 it is not pursuing. ### Who does Nubank compete with in Mexico? Nu's FY2025 20-F says it became one of the top new credit card issuers in Mexico, surpassing Banco Azteca, Banorte, Santander Mexico, HSBC and BanCoppel. Nu México began operating as a bank on August 6, 2026. Revolut launched full banking operations in Mexico in January 2026, and Mercado Pago's Mexican fintech users grew 45% in Q2 2026. ### Who does Nubank compete with in the United States? Nu launched in the US on September 10, 2026 through partner bank Lead Bank. Forbes said the launch puts it in direct competition with Revolut, which had just received conditional approval for a US charter, and compared its offer with Chime, which has 10 million active customers, and with Capital One's Quicksilver and Citi's Double Cash cards. ### How do Nubank's competitors use AI? Itaú agreed in October 2026 to buy NeoSpace, a large-AI-model start-up, for 2.925 billion reais; Bradesco built a multi-agent generative AI platform called Bridge on Microsoft Azure OpenAI; Inter's AI agent Seven had 6 million active users in Q2 2026; and PicPay uses OpenAI's ChatGPT in customer service. 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