Nu Speeds Up in Southern Mexico: Digital Credit Gains Ground Where Traditional Banking Has Less Reach
Nu reports more than 2 million customers in the south, at a time when financial inclusion still lags and digital credit is expanding.
The expansion of fintech in Mexico is reshaping the financial inclusion landscape, especially in the country’s south. Nu Mexico, which currently operates as a Popular Financial Society (Sofipo) while it moves forward in the process of becoming a bank, said it has already surpassed 2 million customers in Chiapas, Guerrero, and Oaxaca—a region that has historically posted the lowest levels of access to financial products.
Mexico’s 2024 National Survey of Financial Inclusion (ENIF) places the south as the region with the lowest penetration: 67.7% of the population has at least one financial product, below areas such as Mexico City (80%) or the Northeast (84.9%). In that setting, the growth of digital players reflects both persistent barriers—cost, distance to branches, requirements, and distrust—and a rapid shift in financial habits driven by cellphone use, electronic payments, and households’ and microbusinesses’ need for liquidity.
According to regulatory figures released by Mexico’s National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV), Nu ended the year with 14.1 million customers in Mexico and assets above 126 billion pesos. Its deposit base—enabled under the Sofipo framework—reached 112.613 billion pesos, a figure that underscores intensifying competition for retail savings in a country where interest rates still shape preferences for yield-bearing products, but where informality continues to define access to credit.
Armando Herrera, CEO of Nu Mexico, has argued that credit—through both credit cards and personal loans—will remain the institution’s core growth engine. That case rests on a structural reality: despite progress, Mexico still has a significant gap of unbanked or underserved people. In addition, consumer credit continues to serve as a way for households to smooth spending, though with the ongoing challenge of preventing over-indebtedness among segments with volatile income.
The South: Market Potential, but Also the Biggest Risk Challenge
The advance of credit in the south is an opportunity, but also a stress test for digital models. In states with higher levels of informal employment, seasonal work, and vulnerability to shocks (weather, tourism, remittances, or security), loan origination requires more refined risk-assessment systems than traditional credit scoring. In this context, the strategy of starting with small credit lines that increase with good repayment behavior—described by the company as a practical form of financial education—aims to reduce the cost of learning how to use credit while also containing delinquency. At the macro level, the performance of these portfolios will be closely watched: rapid growth in lagging regions can raise well-being if capital is allocated effectively, but it can also strain portfolio quality if the economic environment worsens.
Nu is also leaning on word-of-mouth referrals: a significant share of its customers say it was their first experience with a credit card. That detail matters for understanding the transition from an economy where cash still dominates in many areas to one with greater traceability and gradual formalization. For regional economies, more access to accounts and credit can translate into stronger purchasing power, small investments in work tools, and better cash-flow management; however, the net effect depends on fees, effective interest rates, contract transparency, and the level of competition.
The regulatory pivot is another central piece. Having received an initial authorization to move toward a banking license puts Nu on a path with higher requirements for capital, corporate governance, and compliance—but it also opens the door to a broader offering and, potentially, deeper integration with the payments system. In a market where large banks and new platforms compete for deposits and credit, the shift from Sofipo to bank could intensify the fight for low- and middle-income customers, putting pressure on both pricing and service quality.
At the same time, Mexico’s economy faces an environment of moderate growth, financing costs that have begun to normalize after a restrictive cycle, and domestic demand that remains resilient, albeit with regional inequality. For consumer-focused institutions, the challenge will be to balance expansion with prudence: originating more in underserved areas without loosening standards while also maintaining the confidence of savers looking for yield and safety.
In perspective, Nu’s progress in the south illustrates how digital credit can accelerate financial inclusion where traditional infrastructure is limited, but it also shows that the next phase will hinge on risk discipline, regulation, and the ability to turn new users into long-term customers with sustainable products.
