Inter has quickly become one of the leading fintech companies in Brazil's booming online banking sector, with 32 million customers attracted by a wide range of products such as credit cards, mortgages and investments through its smart phone app.

Inter & Co, a Brazilian neobank or online bank backed by Japan's SoftBank, hopes to repeat the success of its local market in the United States, where it is targeting Brazilian visitors to Florida's two largest cities, said the company's CEO.

Inter has quickly become one of the leading fintech companies in Brazil's booming online banking sector, with 32 million customers attracted by a wide range of products such as credit cards, mortgages and investments through its app.

But Inter must overcome the obstacles of building its presence from scratch in the United States, where fintechs have had difficulty breaking through against established banks.

Inter launched its operations in the United States with a headquarters in Miami in 2021 and last May it expanded its physical presence with a lounge for clients in Orlando, also a point of attraction for Brazilian emigrants and tourists.

"Orlando is the most Brazilian city outside of Brazil," said CEO João Vitor Menin, stating that Inter would first target Brazilians traveling or living in the United States, and then expand to other American customers who want to have an account. in US dollars, or what Inter calls a global account.

Earlier this year, Inter bought the naming rights to the Orlando soccer stadium, where several Brazilian women play, including Marta, considered the greatest soccer player of all time.

Inter has 3.1 million customers in its global accounts, the majority in Brazil, and "a little more" than 250,000 in the United States, according to Menin.

"When we think about this global account concept, we should be in the United States, because this is the American economy," Menin said.

The executive added that the US market represents "an opportunity, not a challenge" for the company, and explained the quality of an Inter account will differentiate it from its competitors. According to Menin, customers satisfied with their experience will share it by word of mouth.

"Expansion in the United States is an asset-light operation," Menin affirms. "We are spending most of our time, most of our cash and most of our team developing the right product," he added, referring to Inter's global account and smartphone app.

Inter, in which Japanese technology investor SoftBank Group has a stake of almost 15%, has previously set a goal of reaching a total of 60 million customers by the end of 2027.

If the current pace of growth continues, it is likely that about 6 million customers will also be global account holders, Menin estimated, adding that the company had considered adding the option to operate in European markets and currencies in the future.

The company has also set a goal of achieving a return on equity of 30% and an efficiency ratio of 30% by 2027. These goals are now "much more feasible" than when they were first set in 2023, Menin said, after profits increased in the last year.

In the first quarter, Inter's net profit increased more than eightfold from a year earlier thanks to cost-cutting measures, sending its shares to an all-time high in May.

The second quarter "will probably be very good as well," Menin said.