The shift to digital platforms has been a pronounced feature of the global pandemic – with tech stocks hugely outperforming stock market benchmarks throughout the world – but in emerging markets there have been specific drivers turbo-charging this phenomenon.
Digital bank Nubank, founded seven years ago in Brazil with the launch of a no-fee credit card managed by an app, has grown its total client base to more than 25 million. The bank launched its digital current account in 2017, which now has more than 20 million account holders.
David Vélez, CEO of Nubank, says that the global pandemic has hugely accelerated the growth of his digital banking business.
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David Vélez, |
He tells Euromoney that the pandemic is broadening the demographic base of new account holders. For example, more than 530,000 opened accounts to receive the government’s emergency subsistence payment and, in doing so, avoided having to go to bank branches with the associated risk of contracting the virus.
The growth in accounts for government payments is, in part, driving the shifting demographics of the client base – with the number of new customers registered who are over 60 years old growing by more than 20% (or 42,000 a day) during the crisis.
