Warren Buffett-backed Nubank overhauls loyalty ecosystem to lock in 100 million customers
Digital banking giant Nubank launches a gamified, five-tier loyalty program targeting "primary bank" status to boost revenue per active user.
If you hold shares of digital banking giant Nu Holdings in your US brokerage account, your investment is about to test a major new strategy to extract more cash from its massive user base. The company is moving beyond simple fee-free accounts to aggressively target "primary bank" status—the holy grail of retail finance where customers deposit their paychecks and route all their daily spending.
In Brazil, where the company boasts the bulk of its 100 million customers, Nubank announced a complete overhaul of its NuCoin loyalty program on September 23, 2026. The digital lender is shifting to a highly gamified, five-tier reward system designed to incentivize active banking through quizzes, games, and partner discounts rather than just high credit card spending.
Under the new rules, users earn 1 point for every R$5 spent on credit and R$6 spent on debit. To drive users up the five-tier ladder, the bank is offering high-yield "Caixinha Turbo" savings accounts yielding up to 115% of Brazil’s benchmark CDI rate for Tier 4 users, alongside weekly and monthly cash sweepstakes.
The overhaul is a direct play to capture what bankers call "principalidade"—or primary bank status. In an October 12, 2026 interview with Brazilian technology outlet Tecnoblog, Nubank Vice President Arthur Valadão confirmed that all of the bank's products, including its recently launched NuCel mobile telecom service, will eventually be integrated into this single loyalty ecosystem.
By locking customers into a broader ecosystem of banking, savings, and mobile data, Nubank aims to boost its average revenue per active customer (ARPAC), a key metric for Wall Street analysts. The strategy mirrors similar loyalty structures used by traditional Brazilian giants like Itaú Unibanco, but relies heavily on digital-first gamification to keep younger users engaged.
In your brokerage app
Nu Holdings, the parent company of Nubank, is listed in New York and can be traded directly through US brokerages. The stock is also a prominent holding in emerging market and fintech-focused exchange-traded funds, such as the ARK Fintech Innovation ETF.