Nubank CEO David Velez, left, takes a selfie photo with his company's co-Founders Cristina Junqueira, and Edward Wible, before he rings the ceremonial first trade bell during his IPO, on the New York Stock Exchange trading floor, Thursday, Dec. 9, 2021.
Richard Drew—AP

Latin America’s traditional banking system is notoriously expensive, bureaucratic, and inaccessible, leaving an estimated 45% of adults across the region unbanked. Under CEO David Vélez, fintech and banking disrupter Nubank is leading the charge to change that by making it easier than ever for people to access the banking system via their mobile devices. It has the backing of influential investors including Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway, and grew its customer base by 62% last year to almost 54 million. Nubank also made its stock-market debut in December via a $2.8 billion IPO that lifted its market capitalization to over $50 billion, cementing its credentials as the world’s most valuable digital-only bank.

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