Availability of financial services is improving rapidly in emerging markets around the world. Driving this change is the widespread usage of mobile devices. Among the 1.7 billion unbanked adults worldwide, it’s estimated that over one billion now have access to a mobile device. The percentage of the region’s population that used a smartphone in 2018 reached 64%, and that number is expected to reach 78% by 2025.
Nubank is a digital bank that found an innovative way to tap into Brazil’s large, young consumer base with mobile-first banking services. With more than 8.5 million customers, Nubank is now the largest digital bank outside of Asia. It’s also the highest-valued, private digital bank in the world, recently raising a mega-round of funding from U.S. investment firm TCV. The digital banking giant plans to use its latest funding to fuel its expansion across the region.
Latin America is well-positioned to become a global leader in digital banking. The opportunities to attract new customers who have been unbanked or under banked up until now and bring them into the system via mobile-first services are still limitless. There are certainly challenges when it comes to achieving this goal, however, an increasingly friendly regulatory environment, increased investments, and mobile-first successes in other emerging markets around the world are enough to prove that financial inclusion can be a reality in Latin America and the region will certainly lead the digital banking revolution over the years to come.