The archive · Money & Fintech · Strategic decision · 2022–2025
Lulo Bank's high-yield savings bet: 600k clients, COP 1T deposits in three years
Grupo Gilinski's Lulo Bank — Colombia's first fully digital bank — pays up to 10.5% on savings, zero fees; 600k+ clients and COP 1T in deposits by mid-2025.
Lulo Bank
What the business is
Lulo Bank is a 100% digital retail bank in Colombia: fee-free savings accounts paying ~9–10.5% effective annual interest, debit and credit cards, free-investment loans, payroll accounts (Lulo Pro) and in-app dollar/euro/crypto investment via stablecoins (Lulo X).
Starting capital：Funded by Grupo Gilinski; International Holding Company (IHC, Abu Dhabi) invested US$200M for a 49.9% stake in October 2022; by July 2025 Lulo reported a record COP 500B in free-investment loans.
How it started
Jaime Gilinski's Grupo Gilinski obtained Colombia's first digital-bank certificate from the Superintendencia Financiera in June 2021 and launched Lulo Bank to the market in June 2022, with Benjamin Gilinski as board chairman and Santiago Covelli as founding CEO. The bank passed 100,000 users within four months.
What happened
In October 2022, Abu Dhabi's IHC invested US$200M for 49.9% of the bank, funding expansion in Colombia and the region. Growth accelerated through 2025: ~600k–650k clients, about 20,000 new clients a month, and COP 1 trillion in savings deposits by end-May 2025 (from just over COP 160B a year earlier). Lulo Pro payroll accounts reached ~30,000 users at 10.5% E.A.; Lulo X offered dollar, euro and crypto investment inside the app; free-investment loans hit a record COP 500B; and the credit card passed 10,000 issued units in its first month before an open-market launch in September 2025.
How it ended up
Scaling: as of September 2025 Lulo Bank has 600k+ clients and is Colombia's first fully digital licensed bank, competing head-on with Nubank's Nu Colombia. Management targeted breakeven for end-2025, then planned to complete the portfolio (insurance, business segment) and decide between new markets, an additional capital round or a stock-market listing.
Background
Lulo Bank, launched in June 2022 by Grupo Gilinski, bet that Colombians would move their savings to a fully digital bank that pays real interest and charges no fees. The wedge was deliberately simple: ordinary savings at 9% effective annual, 10.5% for payroll clients, zero transfer or account fees — a product the incumbents would not cannibalize. To make trust work, Gilinski took Colombia's first digital-bank license (certified June 2021), so deposits carry Fogafin insurance rather than fintech promises.
The capital came from an unusual source: in October 2022, Abu Dhabi's International Holding Company invested US$200M for 49.9% of the bank, funding expansion without venture-style dilution. The bank passed 100,000 users within four months of launch and kept compounding: by mid-2025 it had 600k–650k clients, roughly 20,000 new clients a month, and COP 1 trillion in savings deposits by end-May — against just over COP 160B a year earlier.
The savings base became a credit and investment machine. Lulo Pro payroll accounts (~30,000 users by July 2025) paid 10.5% E.A.; Lulo X let users buy dollars, euros and crypto via stablecoins inside the app; free-investment loans hit a record COP 500B; and the credit card passed 10,000 issued units in its first month with existing account holders before an open-market launch in September 2025.
As of September 2025 Lulo Bank is scaling as Colombia's first 100% digital licensed bank, competing directly with Nubank's Nu Colombia. Management targeted breakeven at the end of 2025, after which it planned to finish the portfolio — insurance and a business segment — and decide between international expansion, a new capital round or a listing. The bet, so far, is that deposits follow yield and trust, and credit follows deposits.
What has to be true
- Lulo bet that Colombians would move savings for a simple, fee-free app that actually pays — 9% E.A. ordinary, 10.5% payroll — attacking the fees and near-zero rates of incumbent banks.
- It used a full banking license and Grupo Gilinski's balance sheet instead of a fintech license workaround, converting regulatory trust and Fogafin deposit insurance into growth.
- The wedge compounds: once deposits arrived, Lulo laddered into payroll, credit cards, free-investment loans and dollar/stablecoin investment, monetizing the same customer base.
- The capital story is unusual: Abu Dhabi's IHC put US$200M into a 49.9% stake in 2022, funding growth without the dilution or valuation pressure of a typical VC route.
What can be applied
A licensed bank with a fee-free, high-yield product can out-grow fintechs on trust: Gilinski's capital and a full license turned a commodity app into Colombia's fastest-growing deposit base.
Aftermath
As of September 22, 2025, Lulo Bank is scaling with 600k+ clients, ~20,000 new clients a month, and COP 1T in savings deposits (May 2025); its credit card went to the open market in September after 10,000+ cards in the first month for existing clients. Breakeven was targeted for end-2025, then planned to finish the portfolio (insurance, business segment) and choose between new markets, a capital round or a listing. As Colombia's first fully digital licensed bank it competes directly with Nubank's Nu Colombia; the open question is deposit stickiness as central-bank rates keep falling.
Sources
- Banco colombiano será adquirido por un conglomerado árabe: pagarán 200 millones de dólares
- ¿Una cuenta de nómina que hace crecer su dinero? Este banco tiene la mejor tasa de rentabilidad
- Lulo Bank entra al mercado de tarjetas de crédito en Colombia desde septiembre
- Lulo Bank llega a 600.000 clientes en Colombia consolidando su propuesta de inclusión financiera
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