Nu Is Now in the U.S. What That Could Mean for Moving Money to Colombia

Nu released its U.S. products on September 10, 2026, and the account is open to sign up as of September 15, when we opened one. People who earn in dollars and spend in pesos will likely care most about its new Colombia transfer option, rather than the metal card or launch campaign. Nu says that option can move money to Colombia without the usual tangle of separate apps, fees, and waiting.

Nu’s U.S. account, its current transfer corridor, the separately launched Nu Global product, and Colombia’s Bre-B payment system have different roles and availability dates.

TL;DR

• The Nu Account is live. We opened one on September 15. Variable 3.50% APY, card offers 1.5% cashback. Nu, Sept. 10
• Nu says Nu Account transfers to Colombia are available now, take a few minutes, and carry no fee. Nu, Sept. 10
• Nu Global is available now, while its Colombia-specific integrations are still planned. Nu, Sept. 10
• Bre-B handles domestic Colombian payments. Nu has not named the rail used to settle its cross-border transfers. Banco de la República

Availability at a glance

Feature	Status, rechecked September 15, 2026	What the source says
Nu Account	Live, sign-up open	Variable 3.50% APY, paid daily, no minimum balance; deposits held at Lead Bank, Member FDIC. Nu, Sept. 10
Nu Credit Card	Releasing now	No annual fee and unlimited 1.5% cashback. Nu, Sept. 10
Transfers to Colombia	Live per Nu, not tested by us	Nu says the Nu Account can send transfers starting with Colombia, Brazil, and Mexico in a few minutes with no fees. Nu, Sept. 10
4.50% APY savings goal and 2% cashback	Planned	Higher APY and cashback are conditional future features, not the default offer. Nu, Sept. 10
Nu Global	Live; Colombia-specific integrations planned	Nu Global is a separate multi-currency product; its integrations with Colombia, Brazil, Mexico, and the United States are planned for the months ahead. Nu, Sept. 10
Nu as a U.S. national bank	Not active	Nu received conditional OCC approval in January, while its earlier announcement described further approvals as pending. Nu, Jan. 29

Update, September 15: the account is open, and we have one

We opened a Nu Account on September 15, five days after launch. Sign-up was open to us with no waitlist and no invite code, and the account is real. That is one account rather than a statement about how Nu is staging the rollout generally. That is the part this article could only report secondhand on launch day.

Two things that follow from having the account rather than reading about it:

The deposit sits with Lead Bank, Member FDIC, exactly as the disclosure says. Opening a Nu Account does not mean Nubank, N.A. is operating as a U.S. national bank yet, and the FDIC coverage you get comes through Lead Bank. That is who holds the money today.

Worth understanding what that insurance actually covers. Pass-through FDIC insurance protects you if Lead Bank fails. It is not insurance against the fintech in front of the bank failing, or against its records of who owns what being wrong. Depositors at several fintechs learned that distinction the hard way when Synapse collapsed in 2024 and people could not reach money they believed was FDIC insured. Keep your own record of your balances and transfers rather than relying on one app to be the only ledger.

We have not yet sent money to Colombia through it, so everything below about the transfer corridor is still Nu’s claim rather than something we have watched happen. When we do send one, the numbers that matter are the exchange rate Nu shows against the TRM at that moment and what actually lands in the receiving account. A transfer advertised as having no fee can still carry its cost in the spread. We will publish the real figures here rather than restate the press release.

The U.S. account behind the launch

Nu’s U.S. launch starts with a Nu Account and a Nu Credit Card. The company’s September announcement says the account pays a variable 3.50% APY on every dollar, calculated and paid daily, with no minimum balance. Deposits are held at Nu’s partner, FDIC-insured Lead Bank.

The card has no annual fee and offers unlimited 1.5% cashback. That is the offer available at launch. Readers may also see Nu advertise a 4.50% APY savings goal and 2% cashback. Those are not the baseline terms. Nu says the higher APY is launching soon, applies to a savings goal balance up to $10,000, and requires both the account and card plus at least three eligible card transactions during the preceding 34 days. The 2% cashback offer is also described as a future, conditional feature.

A launch roadmap does not change the account terms available today.

The Colombia transfer promise

Nu says the Nu Account can make local and international transfers in a few minutes with no fees, starting with Brazil, Mexico, and Colombia. For a household that earns in dollars but pays rent, family support, school costs, or everyday expenses in pesos, a lower-friction Colombia corridor is the consequential part of the launch.

The official release is clear about the starting countries and Nu’s no-fee claim. It is not a complete operating manual. It does not set out a recipient bank list, a transfer limit, an exchange rate formula, or a universal delivery guarantee. Check the in-app disclosure and final amount before confirming a transfer, rather than treating the announcement as a promise about every possible transaction.

This current corridor should also not be confused with Nu Global. Nu describes Nu Global as a separate multi-currency digital account using USDC and EURC. Its integrations with Brazil, Colombia, Mexico, and the United States are planned for the months ahead. The current Nu Account transfer announcement and Nu Global’s future integrations are two different timelines.

Where Bre-B fits in Colombia

Bre-B is Colombia’s domestic interoperable immediate payment system. According to the Banco de la República, it lets people make immediate domestic transfers between participating financial entities, twenty-four hours a day, seven days a week. People use it through participating institutions rather than as a standalone app.

Bre-B is designed to make domestic movement between participating institutions easier. Noticias RCN and Blu Radio have connected Nu’s Colombia corridor to Bre-B; that connection is those outlets’ reporting, not a claim Nu makes in its U.S. release.

Nu’s U.S. release does not itself describe the exact settlement rail for a U.S.-to-Colombia transfer. Bre-B’s domestic capability does not guarantee how every cross-border Nu transfer will work. Bre-B may make the local leg simpler, while Nu’s own terms remain the source for the cross-border transfer itself.

Nu is a fintech, not yet a U.S. national bank

Nu’s U.S. launch does not mean that Nubank, N.A. is already operating as a U.S. national bank. Nu says it is a financial technology company, not a bank, and that its banking services and credit card are provided by Lead Bank, Member FDIC.

That partner-bank structure is separate from Nu’s longer-term charter work. In its January 29 announcement, Nu said it had received conditional approval from the Office of the Comptroller of the Currency to form Nubank, N.A. At that point, the company described itself as being in the bank-organization phase, with FDIC and Federal Reserve approvals still pending.

The distinction identifies which institution provides the U.S. banking service today and avoids describing a product launch as the completion of Nu’s own U.S. bank charter.

A short checklist before using the new corridor

1. Confirm what products are actually available to you through Nu’s current sign-up and in-app disclosures.
2. Read the account disclosure so you understand that deposits are held at Lead Bank, Member FDIC, and that Nu describes itself as a fintech.
3. Treat 3.50% APY and 1.5% cashback as the launch terms. Treat the higher APY and cashback as planned features with conditions.
4. Before a Colombia transfer, review the in-app fee and final amount shown for that transaction instead of assuming a universal exchange rate or delivery outcome.
5. Separate Nu’s cross-border transfer offer from Bre-B, Colombia’s domestic payment infrastructure.

For a broader comparison of methods and tradeoffs, see our guide to transferring money to Colombia. If you will be receiving or holding pesos locally, our guide to opening a bank account in Colombia covers that separate decision.

Frequently asked questions

Is Nu a bank in the United States?

No. Nu describes itself as a financial technology company, while Lead Bank, Member FDIC, provides the U.S. banking services and credit card. Nu has received conditional approval to establish Nubank, N.A., but its January announcement said further approvals were still pending. Nu, Jan. 29

Does Nu charge a fee to send money to Colombia?

Nu says Nu Account transfers to Colombia carry no fee. Before confirming a transfer, check the in-app disclosure and final amount for that specific transaction. Nu, Sept. 10

Nu’s U.S. launch gives people with USD-and-COP lives another option worth watching. Nu has opened a U.S. product line, announced a no-fee Colombia corridor, and put more attention on a problem that has long been unnecessarily complicated for families living across both countries.