Fintech for Brazilians to Save in Dollars Plans Miami Office

Daniel Cancel, Bloomberg News

(Bloomberg) -- Nomad, a financial-technology company that caters to Brazilians who want US dollar checking and investment accounts, is planning to open an office in Miami.

While the exact timing hasn’t been decided, Nomad’s Caio Fasanella is moving there from Sao Paulo to head the effort and will be focused on expanding the investment options on the platform, according to Chief Executive Officer Lucas Vargas.

Nomad already has several “lounges” in Orlando to assist clients, since the city is one of the prime destinations for Brazilians traveling overseas. But the Miami space would be its first office abroad.

“People go to Orlando for Disney and the outlets,” Fasanella, who’s head of investments and previously worked at Moelis & Co. and Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said in an interview. “In Miami they’re more spread out but there is a core financial center in Brickell. We’re going to expand the services and the infrastructure there.”

Nomad, which last raised money in 2023 as part of a $61 million round led by Tiger Global Management at a valuation of $361 million, is planning to reach break even in early 2025, Vargas said. Revenue last year was almost $45 million, three times the figure from a year earlier.

Nomad, which also counts Monashees and Stripes among backers, offers a US dollar debit card for its customers and an investment platform to save and spend when abroad.

Orlando is the destination for about 40% of Brazilians who travel to the US with Miami accounting for roughly 27%, Vargas said.

The Sao Paulo-based company has 1.5 million customers with $600 million of deposits and assets under custody. There are currently about 500 employees — many who remain remote — but can work out of offices in Sao Paulo and Campinas, 95 kilometers (59 miles) outside the megacity.

Client acquisition this year is averaging 70,000 to 80,000 new accounts per month, up from about 50,000 in 2023 and 30,000 in 2022, he said.

“The goal was, if we build the solution, and if at some point Brazilians move 20% to 30% of their financial assets into the US dollar, it’s gonna make sense to have an independent institution from the big banks that can become the new destination of part of those assets,” Vargas said in the interview.

Started in 2019, Nomad was co-founded by Patrick Sigrist, who was one of the entrepreneurs behind iFood, Brazil’s largest food-delivery platform that is now owned by Prosus NV.

Vargas, 40, previously worked as CEO of Grupo ZAP, a real estate marketplace that was acquired by OLX for 2.9 billion reais ($566 million) in October 2020.

Competition is increasing for Nomad as many of Brazil’s banks and startups are now offering US accounts for upper middle class and wealthy customers who frequently travel to the US or invest globally.

Part of Nomad’s strategy has been to spend heavily on advertising. They acquired space in the main international airport in Sao Paulo to build a lounge and frequently advertise on city billboards.

Nomad is in the process of acquiring a brokerage in Brazil as part of a requirement to market services to locals through a regulated entity. It also works with Drive Wealth in the US to have its accounts covered by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corp. Any new fundraising will likely wait until 2025.

“Early next year is when we should be close to break even with a good cushion,” Vargas said. “That’s gonna be the time for us to consider.”