On 6 August 2026 Nu México began operating as a bank, completing its conversion from Sociedad Financiera Popular (Sofipo) to a full-service banking institution. The CNBV had authorised the start of operations on 10 July 2026, with 30 days to convert. Among the licence files resolved in the period it has the largest client base, at more than 15 million. In parallel, Nu Holdings agreed in Brazil to buy a bank with roughly USD 6 million of equity in order to obtain a licence: two routes to the same result.
The transaction
There was no consideration: the Mexican transaction is a regulatory conversion, not an acquisition. Authorisation to organise as a bank was granted in April 2025; authorisation to start operations on 10 July 2026; the technical migration took place on 5 August and banking operations began on 6 August 2026.
On converting, Nu México reported more than 15 million clients, around 12,000 new ones a day, presence in 98% of municipalities, close to 15% of the country’s adults, deposits above USD 5,900 million and breakeven in the first quarter of 2026. Deposit insurance rises from 25,000 UDI under Prosofipo to 400,000 UDI under IPAB. The company reiterated a planned cumulative investment of USD 4,200 million to 2030.
In Brazil, Nu Holdings disclosed in a 6-K dated 20 July 2026 the agreement to purchase 100% of Banco Porto Real de Investimentos, at an undisclosed price, subject to Central Bank approval and with no additional capital requirement. The objective is to add a banking licence to the prudential conglomerate of Nu Pagamentos in order to comply with Joint Resolution 17 on the use of the word “banco”, with a deadline in November 2026. The acquired entity had assets of BRL 32.1 million (around USD 6.3 million) and equity of BRL 31.4 million as of March 2026.
Value drivers
Deposit-taking with IPAB insurance. The jump from 25,000 to 400,000 UDI of coverage changes, in our reading, the deposit ceiling per client and the cost of funding relative to traditional banks; it is the commercial argument for the conversion.
Scale before the licence. Nu reached breakeven and USD 5,900 million in deposits as a Sofipo. The licence does not create the business; in our reading, it removes the regulatory limit on one that already existed.
Sixteen months and tighter scrutiny. Sixteen months elapsed from authorisation to organise (April 2025) to operations (August 2026), in an environment in which, according to El CEO, SHCP, Banxico and CNBV tightened their criteria after the FinCEN case. Finsus, Mercado Pago and Konfío remained without authorisation as of 8 September 2026.
Buying the licence or applying for it. In Brazil, Nu bought a shell with BRL 31.4 million of equity to meet a naming rule with a fixed deadline. In Mexico it converted its own entity. The purchase route in Mexico is illustrated by Klar and Bineo: agreement in September 2025, CNA clearance in December and no closing reported a year later.
What the market is signalling
In the period the regulator authorised Hey Banco (December 2025), Revolut (January 2026), Plata (February 2026) and Nu (July 2026), and kept Finsus, Mercado Pago and Konfío waiting. In our reading, capital, corporate governance and the location of infrastructure (Mercado Pago’s file stalled over cloud services contracted from a related party outside Mexico) weigh as much as scale.
For Sofipos with banking ambitions, Nu sets the conversion template and the deposit-insurance argument. For anyone evaluating the purchase of an authorised entity, the Brazilian case shows that a small, clean shell can be bought without additional capital; the Bineo case, with 52,000 clients and accumulated losses of MXN 1,307 million to the third quarter of 2025, shows the cost of a shell with a history.
G2’s reading for a mandate
A fintech evaluating its licence route should model all three options (conversion, de novo licence, purchase) with calendar, regulatory capital and probability of authorisation, because the outcome conditions the term sheet of the next round (conditions precedent, milestone tranches) and the pricing of any debt facility, whose lenders factor the licence into their risk analysis.
Sources
- Tribuna, 10 July 2026: Nubank recibe autorización de la CNBV para iniciar operaciones como banco en México
- Tribuna, 23 July 2026: Nu inicia como banco en México el 6 de agosto luego de finalizar migración técnica
- Nu México, 6 August 2026: Nubank ya es banco en México
- Mobile Time, 7 August 2026: Nu México banco
- SEC, 20 July 2026: Nu Holdings, Form 6-K
- FinTech Global, 22 July 2026: Nubank to acquire Banco Porto Real for banking licence
- El CEO, 6 July 2026: A un año del caso FinCEN, Hacienda, Banxico y CNBV endurecen criterios para autorizar nuevos bancos
- La Política Online, 17 July 2026: Tras la aprobación de Nu, la CNBV alista la licencia bancaria de Mercado Pago
- Expansión, 9 December 2025: Banorte recibe visto bueno para la venta de Bineo a Klar