David Vélez is changing banking in Latin America

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(CNN Spanish) -

Eight years ago, David Vélez wanted to open an account at the branch of a Brazilian bank and, frustrated by his experience, decided to build something completely new away from the traditional banking model: Nubank.

According to Forbes, today Vélez is the richest Colombian in the world after the debut of his neobank - which does not have a physical branch and operates only online - on the New York Stock Exchange.

Nubank has a market capitalization of approximately $ 47 billion, making the financial institution the third most valuable listed firm in Brazil, according to Reuters.

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"It is a time to reflect, to celebrate a little, to think about the 48 million clients we have and really to move forward, to take energy," Velez said in an interview with Gabriela Frías for CNN en Español.

Nubank is a financial institution that welcomes a section of the unbanked population, those without bank accounts and, often, no credit history.

Vélez tells CNN that there are more than 200 million people in Latin America without access to financial services, and that they put their money under the mattress.

This is due, in part, to the high operating cost of physical banks.

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"When there is such a high operational cost, banks end up not having the interest in opening a savings account for someone who is going to deposit US $ 100 or US $ 50, or someone who needs a loan of US $ 20. The business model does not it works, "Velez said.

"When you remove those banking agencies and it is only for the cell phone, there are no longer those types of costs and you can really bring everyone unbanked and give them services that are good for them," he added.

Nubank uses unique data sets and algorithms to approve new financial account applicants, often in a matter of minutes.

(Beto Chagas / Shutterstock)

Nubank offers bank loans starting at US $ 5, investments in a fixed income fund or life insurance for one dollar a month.

"This technological platform creates its opportunity and that is what we are seeing with our growth in that segment," explained Vélez.

Also, unlike traditional banks, Nubank customers can be approved for a bank account, credit card, or loan in a few minutes after downloading the app, uploading some documents, and answering a couple of basic questions.

The company currently has 48 million clients in Brazil, Mexico and Colombia, and according to Vélez, they also have 1.1 million small businesses as clients.

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The next step?

Increase the product portfolio in Brazil.

"Having started with a credit card, we already have a savings account, credit, investments and now also opening our ecosystem to attract partners from other industries and offer those industries to our clients," explains Vélez.

As for Mexico, Vélez commented that since September of this year, Nubank became the first credit card issuer in the country.

When talking about the future of Nubank in the face of the challenges of the current economy, such as strong inflationary pressures, Vélez comments that since they began in 2013 they have operated in the most difficult contexts imaginable.

"We are, in some way, used to navigating in these turbulent waters," exclaimed Vélez, indicating that in these challenging moments is when customers look for better options, so "products like ours, where we don't charge so much, become more interesting to most customers. "

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