When Brazilian digital bank Inter decided it was time to take on the US market, it didn’t look to New York or San Francisco. It planted its flag in Miami. “Miami is our home and Inter’s home,” said COO Ray Chalub, who moved here with his family two years ago to lead the expansion.
Chalub has been with Inter for a decade, long enough to see the company grow from a small operation with just a thousand customers into a digital-first powerhouse.
“I had the opportunity, the pleasure, and the luck to start the digital implementation of Inter,” Chalub told Refresh Miami. “We were pioneers in secure digital onboarding when it was still brand new. That work is what made it possible to grow to tens of millions of customers.”
That experience gave the company confidence to expand beyond Brazil. For its US headquarters, Chalub asserted that Miami was the natural choice.
“Miami is a global city, and for us, it’s the ultimate destination,” he said. “It’s business-friendly, multicultural, and perfectly positioned geographically: connected to Latin America, the West Coast, and Europe. And beyond that, we call it home.”
Today Inter has nearly 60 employees in Miami, part of a global workforce of 4,000, 40% of whom are technologists. The company’s US offering centers around a super app that combines traditional banking services with features designed to stretch across a customer’s daily life.
“We’re a public company that’s built to last, but we also have a startup mentality,” Chalub said. “That combination is what lets us bring innovation to market while staying secure and well-capitalized.”
The Inter app allows users to open a free checking account, make transfers, use debit and credit cards, and invest in stocks and ETFs with zero brokerage fees. But Chalub emphasized that the goal is much broader: “We want to be at the center of people’s financial lives. That means everything from mortgages to gift cards, from paying abroad to discounts at major retailers.”
One of the company’s most distinctive US offerings is its credit card. Inter’s version includes a buy now, pay later feature that Chalub believes could catch on widely.
“We’re offering pay-in-four, but instead of four weeks, it’s four months,” he explained. “Imagine buying a new phone or booking a trip and spreading that cost over months without interest. That’s powerful.”
The card also comes with a twist: customers can “chat” with it in the app, using a GPT-style interface to manage payments and set up installments. “It’s an experience that feels natural for digital-first consumers,” Chalub said.
Still, he acknowledged that breaking into the US comes with challenges, especially around consumer education. “The biggest challenge is communicating clearly about our value proposition,” he said. “Many people here don’t realize they can pay in installments with no interest. For us, that’s a no-brainer, but we need to show them why it matters.”
Despite those hurdles, Chalub is confident. The company’s public goal is to reach 60 million customers globally in the coming years, with the US playing a central role.
“We’ve built something that can serve Americans at every stage — whether they’re building credit, investing, sending money abroad, or just looking for ways to save,” he said.
And for Chalub, Miami is the launchpad. “The city has the talent, the global mindset, and the ambition we need,” he said. “We see it as the perfect place to scale Inter’s next chapter.”
READ MORE IN REFRESH MIAMI:
- Fintech company MyBambu 5Xed its space in West Palm Beach with new global HQ — and plans to add 190 jobs
- A fintech founder turned down $200 million. Here’s why he doesn’t regret it.
- RecargaPay founder shares insights on building a Brazilian fintech giant, and what’s next
- Businesses want to act more like banks, and this Miami CEO has the tech they need to do it
- Transak raises $16M to scale stablecoin payments, and Miami is central to the plan
- Comp AI turns compliance headaches into a $34M Series A - September 17, 2026
- Zèya zooms past 100,000 downloads, sets its sights on the next million - September 16, 2026
- Grip is taking the guesswork out of shipping the cold stuff - September 15, 2026