Nubank Secures Conditional OCC Approval to Establish U.S. National Bank

Brazil-based Nubank (Nu Holdings) received conditional approval from the U.S. Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) to establish a national bank in the United States, enabling the firm to provide deposit accounts, credit cards, lending and digital asset custody services in the U.S. market ^[2][3].

The OCC authorization is conditional and moves Nubank into the bank-organization phase; the federal charter would allow the fintech to operate under a single national license rather than navigating state-by-state banking regimes ^[3][4].

Observers note the approval is a rare milestone for a non-U.S. fintech and could reshape the digital banking landscape by positioning Nubank to directly compete with traditional banks using its customer-centric model ^[3][1].

Nubank must complete the OCC’s remaining organizational conditions before the new national bank can commence full operations in the United States ^[2][4].