Beyond the AI Hype: How Nubank’s Customer-First Strategy Built a $50B Fintech Empire

The Unconventional Approach That’s Reshaping Digital Banking

While competitors rush to rebrand themselves as “AI-first” companies, Nubank’s CEO Livia Chanes is taking a radically different approach. In a recent interview at the Most Powerful Women Summit, the leader of the world’s largest digital bank revealed why she’s refusing to sell AI as a product feature and instead focusing on what customers actually care about: solving their problems efficiently.

The Unconventional Approach That’s Reshaping Digital Banking
Substance Over Sizzle: Why AI Isn’t a Selling Point
The Engine Behind 120 Million Customers
Seamless Integration: Technology That Doesn’t Announce Itself
Transforming Financial Behavior in Latin America
The Human Connection in Digital Banking
A Blueprint for Sustainable Fintech Growth

Substance Over Sizzle: Why AI Isn’t a Selling Point

“Customers don’t care if it’s AI-enabled or not,” Chanes stated bluntly. “I think customers just want to have the best experience possible.” This perspective stands in stark contrast to the current industry trend where companies are slapping “AI-powered” labels on everything to attract investor attention and media coverage.

Chanes emphasized that while Nubank is indeed investing heavily in artificial intelligence throughout its operations, the technology serves as an internal tool for improvement rather than a marketing gimmick. “AI is an additional tool… not a customer value proposition,” she explained, highlighting the distinction between using technology effectively versus using it as a buzzword.

The Engine Behind 120 Million Customers

Nubank’s impressive growth to 120 million users across Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia—achieving a market valuation of approximately $50 billion—demonstrates the effectiveness of this philosophy. The digital bank’s expansion hasn’t been driven by technology hype cycles but by systematically eliminating friction in financial services.

The company leverages AI in practical, behind-the-scenes applications that directly enhance user experience: strengthening credit underwriting, detecting and preventing fraud, automating customer service, improving collections, and refining marketing and product analysis. These implementations are designed specifically to remove delays and improve precision for users, with over 90% of customer inquiries now handled digitally.

Seamless Integration: Technology That Doesn’t Announce Itself

Perhaps the most compelling example of Nubank’s approach is their work with voice banking and real-time payments. In Brazil, customers can now initiate payments using simple voice commands like “Send 50 reais to Maria” without even opening a banking app. This experience seamlessly blends AI capabilities with financial infrastructure without calling attention to the underlying technology.

The company has also integrated real-time payments through WhatsApp, the region’s most widely used messaging platform. “Voice banking is something that we are experimenting with,” Chanes noted. “We’re launching real-time payments through WhatsApp.”

Transforming Financial Behavior in Latin America

Nubank’s impact on financial services in Latin America has been profound, particularly in a region where cash has historically dominated and banking access has lagged. The company has become a major player in Brazil’s instant payments revolution, with the central bank’s Pix system now moving more money than credit and debit cards combined.

“One in every four Pix transactions in Brazil now runs through Nubank,” Chanes revealed, demonstrating the scale of their influence in transforming how people manage money in emerging markets.

The Human Connection in Digital Banking

As Nubank considers expansion into the United States through a recently filed national bank charter application, Chanes remains focused on the core principle that has driven their success: maintaining genuine connection with consumers., as additional insights

“It’s very easy to connect with the numbers and disconnect with the people,” she observed. This risk increases with scale, she added, unless leadership stays close to real customer pain points. During her tenure as Brazil country manager, Nubank added 24 million customers and launched more than 50 products—expansion that only reinforced the company’s operating philosophy that technology should remove complexity, not add it.

A Blueprint for Sustainable Fintech Growth

In an industry increasingly obsessed with AI narratives, Nubank’s approach offers a refreshing alternative. Rather than treating technology as the story itself, the company uses it as a tool to deliver what customers truly want: simple, effective solutions to their financial needs.

“People just want to get their problem solved,” Chanes summarized. “It’s less important to them how.” This customer-centric focus, combined with strategic technology implementation, provides a compelling blueprint for sustainable growth in the crowded fintech landscape—proving that sometimes the most innovative approach is to stop selling technology and start solving problems.