Correction: This article has been updated to correct PicPay’s customer figures based on Central Bank data. We regret the error.
By Brazil Stock Guide – The expansion of Brazil’s financial system continues to be driven by fintechs, while traditional banks show signs of stability. A ranking released by the Banco Central do Brasil of the 20 largest financial institutions by number of customers shows that Nubank and Mercado Pago led growth between the fourth quarter of 2025 and the first quarter of 2026, while Stone recorded the sharpest decline.
Nubank added roughly 2.7 million customers in the period, reaching about 114.7 million and consolidating its position as the country’s second-largest player by this metric. Its low-friction acquisition model continues to support consistent growth at scale.
Mercado Pago followed a similar trajectory, adding around 2.5 million customers to reach 71.3 million. The platform is closing in on large traditional banks in scale, reinforcing the role of payments as a gateway into the financial system.
Close behind, PicPay appears with roughly 68.8 million customers in Central Bank data—closer to Mercado Pago than often assumed. The figure confirms the company as one of Brazil’s largest mass-market financial platforms.
At the other end, Stone lost approximately 1.9 million customers, a notable divergence in a segment historically defined by rapid expansion. The drop suggests rising competition or adjustments in its client base.
At the top, Caixa Econômica Federal remains the clear leader with about 158 million customers. Growth is marginal, reflecting a mature base heavily tied to government programs and social benefits.
Among private banks, Bradesco saw a slight decline, while Itaú Unibanco and Santander Brasil posted moderate gains. Banco do Brasil stood out with a more meaningful increase among incumbents.
Further down, Inter continues to expand steadily, while C6 Bank and PagBank show signs of slowing after earlier high-growth cycles.
In the mid-tier, growth reflects different strategies. BTG Pactual (alongside Banco Pan) expands through credit and product distribution, while 99Pay and Neon continue to grow through payments-focused models with less depth of engagement.
Among emerging players, CloudWalk stands out for its pace of growth, suggesting gains in the acquiring segment. RecargaPay also continues to expand, though with lower ticket sizes and limited credit penetration.
At the lower end of the ranking, Banco do Nordeste and Sicredi grow more gradually, supported by regional presence and relationship-driven models. The ranking also reveals distortions: the presence of Celcoin, an infrastructure provider, highlights how indirect relationships are included in the data.
Methodology
The Central Bank metric combines data from CCS and SCR, capturing both financial relationships and credit operations. As a result, the figures do not necessarily reflect active or revenue-generating customers, but any registered link between individuals and institutions.
In practice, this includes both active users and customers who may have opened accounts but rarely use them—an effect that tends to be more pronounced among fintechs, where onboarding is fast and frictionless.
The gap between fintechs and traditional banks goes beyond scale. While digital platforms grow by maximizing reach and accessibility, institutions such as Itaú Unibanco and Bradesco maintain deeper, more profitable relationships through credit, investments and insurance.
This model supports higher monetization per customer and explains why traditional banks still concentrate most of the financial flows in the system, despite not leading customer growth.
The ranking therefore mixes distinct business models—banks, consumer fintechs and infrastructure providers—offering a broad but uneven picture of Brazil’s financial system.
The direction, however, is clear: fintechs now dominate customer growth. The next phase of competition will be about turning that scale into sustainable revenue.
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