Nubank—Reuters documented Nubank raising a minimum-wage Brazilian borrower's credit limit twentyfold over three years without verifying income

A Reuters investigation published September 18, 2026 profiled Alice de Queiros, a 30-year-old Brazilian public servant earning close to minimum wage (~$300/month), whose Nubank credit card limit was raised twentyfold between 2022 and 2025 without any request for proof of income. She told Reuters 'they didn't even ask for proof that I had the income to repay it'; she now owes roughly $1,500, nearly her entire paycheck goes to repayment, and she has had to move in with her mother. Reuters situated the case within a broader pattern of high-cost Brazilian fintech lending -- Central Bank data from late August 2026 put unsecured consumer loan rates at 103.37% annualized for Nubank, versus 178.69% for Mercado Credito and 213.69% for PicPay -- against a backdrop where 82% of Brazilian households carry debt and revolving credit-card rates reach roughly 440% annualized. Fundacao Getulio Vargas economist Lauro Emilio Gonzalez Farias told Reuters 'we have a predatory lending model,' and the IMF's July 2026 review flagged fintechs for targeting low-income customers. Nubank responded that its credit decisions account for existing debt and income-commitment ratios, citing privacy rules on individual cases.