AnalysisBancaMéxico
Nu and Plata are not just competing with banks: they are growing the market
Nu is now on 10.6% of phones in Mexico and Plata on 6.5%. Three in four of the points mobile banking gained over the last year come from users who have only one of the two.
By Mobilens analysis team · · 4 min read
In two years, digital banking has stopped being a promise in Mexico. Nu, which received its banking licence in April 2025, goes from 6.0% to 10.6% of phones. Plata, authorised to operate as a bank in February 2026, from 1.0% to 6.5%: more than six times as much, and still accelerating.
- 10.6%
- of phones have Nu
- 6.5%
- have Plata, more than six times as many as two years ago
- 3.3%
- have only Nu or Plata as a banking app
Nu
Plata
| Nu | Plata | |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 24 | 6% | 1% |
| Oct 24 | 5.9% | 1.1% |
| Nov 24 | 6% | 1.2% |
| Dec 24 | 5.9% | 1.3% |
| Jan 25 | 6.2% | 1.5% |
| Feb 25 | 6.6% | 1.7% |
| Mar 25 | 6.9% | 1.9% |
| Apr 25 | 7.1% | 2.2% |
| May 25 | 7.3% | 2.4% |
| Jun 25 | 7.4% | 2.7% |
| Jul 25 | 7.7% | 2.8% |
| Aug 25 | 7.8% | 2.9% |
| Sep 25 | 8% | 3% |
| Oct 25 | 8.4% | 3.1% |
| Nov 25 | 9% | 3.3% |
| Dec 25 | 9.5% | 3.5% |
| Jan 26 | 10.3% | 3.9% |
| Feb 26 | 10.5% | 4.2% |
| Mar 26 | 10.8% | 4.5% |
| Apr 26 | 10.6% | 4.7% |
| May 26 | 10.8% | 5.1% |
| Jun 26 | 10.5% | 5.4% |
| Jul 26 | 10.6% | 5.9% |
| Aug 26 | 10.4% | 6.2% |
| Sep 26 | 10.6% | 6.5% |
View the data
| Nu | Plata | |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 24 | 6% | 0.97% |
| Oct 24 | 5.93% | 1.08% |
| Nov 24 | 5.96% | 1.18% |
| Dec 24 | 5.93% | 1.31% |
| Jan 25 | 6.18% | 1.47% |
| Feb 25 | 6.58% | 1.66% |
| Mar 25 | 6.89% | 1.9% |
| Apr 25 | 7.08% | 2.2% |
| May 25 | 7.26% | 2.44% |
| Jun 25 | 7.41% | 2.69% |
| Jul 25 | 7.73% | 2.83% |
| Aug 25 | 7.8% | 2.87% |
| Sep 25 | 8.03% | 2.96% |
| Oct 25 | 8.37% | 3.11% |
| Nov 25 | 9.04% | 3.31% |
| Dec 25 | 9.54% | 3.53% |
| Jan 26 | 10.26% | 3.94% |
| Feb 26 | 10.46% | 4.22% |
| Mar 26 | 10.77% | 4.49% |
| Apr 26 | 10.59% | 4.71% |
| May 26 | 10.76% | 5.05% |
| Jun 26 | 10.48% | 5.39% |
| Jul 26 | 10.61% | 5.87% |
| Aug 26 | 10.39% | 6.17% |
| Sep 26 | 10.59% | 6.45% |
Source: Mobilens · % of phones with the app · Sep 2024 – Sep 2026
Data by Mobilens®. Based on our own mobile user panels.
Substitute or complement?
Most of their users have not left their bank. In September 2026, 77% of Nu users and 87% of Plata users also had a traditional bank's app, such as BBVA, Santander, Banamex or Banco Azteca. For almost all of them, Nu and Plata are a second account.
But the share that has only them is growing fast. Among Nu users, those without any traditional bank app go from 14.9% to 23.0% in two years; for Plata, from 9.3% to 13.1%. And almost all of that jump came in the last year, the year of their licences.
- Nu
- Plata
| Nu | Plata | |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2024 | 14.9% | 9.3% |
| Sep 2025 | 16.6% | 9.4% |
| Sep 2026 | 23% | 13.1% |
View the data
| Nu | Plata | |
|---|---|---|
| Sep 2024 | 14.9% | 9.3% |
| Sep 2025 | 16.6% | 9.4% |
| Sep 2026 | 23% | 13.1% |
Source: Mobilens · % of each app's users
Data by Mobilens®. Based on our own mobile user panels.
A sector that grows thanks to the newcomers
Traditional bank apps were on 50.4% of phones in September 2024 and on 54.8% a year later. Over the last year they have barely moved: 55.2%. Meanwhile, phones with any banking app, traditional, Nu or Plata, go from 56.5% to 58.5%. Three in four of those two points come from users who only have Nu or Plata: people entering mobile banking through them.
| Only Nu or Plata | |
|---|---|
| Sep 2024 | 1.1% |
| Sep 2025 | 1.7% |
| Sep 2026 | 3.3% |
View the data
| Only Nu or Plata | |
|---|---|
| Sep 2024 | 1.1% |
| Sep 2025 | 1.7% |
| Sep 2026 | 3.3% |
Source: Mobilens · % of measured phones, with no traditional bank app
Data by Mobilens®. Based on our own mobile user panels.
Plata, moreover, no longer grows only among Nu customers. Two years ago, 55% of its users also had Nu; today, 37%.
What the headline does not tell
Which bank do Nu's and Plata's new users come from? Which other financial apps do they have, how often do they open them and which mobile operator do they use? We measure all of that too, every month and by country, in Mobilens.