Layoff
Dec 2024Z1 carried out a mass layoff in December 2024; reporting said more than 70 employees were cut across marketing, compliance, CX, finance, and backend functions.
SourceDigital bank for teenagers in LatAm connected to prepaid card
Company research
Public company, workplace, funding, and market signals
Overview
Z1 was a São Paulo-based Gen Z neobank for teenagers and young adults in Brazil/LatAm, built around a free digital account, prepaid Mastercard card, PIX payments, and financial education. In February 2025, NG.CASH absorbed Z1’s customer base and Z1 was folded into NG.CASH as a standalone brand.
Primary product
Digital bank app for teenagers and young adults with a prepaid Mastercard card and PIX-enabled account
Founded
2019
Headquarters
São Paulo, Brazil
Team size
1-10
Industry
Financial Services
Sub-industry
Teen / Gen Z digital banking and payments
Offices
São Paulo, Brazil
Business model
Digital banking
Prepaid card/payments
Interchange fees
Freemium (historical monthly fee removed)
Planned/adjacent credit products
Funding
Stage
Series B
Total raised
$26.2M
Latest round
Venture Round · Apr 2023
Latest amount
$11M
People & investors
Leadership
Co-Founder & CEO
Co-Founder & COO
Co-Founder & CTO
Co-Founder & CMO
Work & culture
Gen Z-oriented and mission-driven, with a strong emphasis on autonomy, privacy, social identity, diversity, and inclusive language. Public hiring materials also suggested a remote-friendly, collaborative culture.
Compensation
Public job ads showed PJ-style hiring for engineering in Brazil (e.g. BRL 4k-7k monthly for a junior mobile role) and remote sales roles with USD 2k-3k monthly base plus uncapped commission. No broad public salary bands or visa policy were found.
Benefits
100% paid health plan (historical hiring)
22 business days of vacation from day one (historical hiring)
Therapy stipend for marginalized employees (historical hiring)
RetificaZ1 support program for trans employees (historical hiring)
Remote-friendly / optional São Paulo office (historical hiring)
Product & market
Pricing
Free core banking / prepaid account (historically there was a $2 monthly subscription before it was removed); revenue appears to have come primarily from interchange and related financial product monetization
Differentiators
- —Built specifically for teens and Gen Z in Latin America
- —Direct-to-teen positioning rather than parent-first messaging
- —Prepaid card + digital account tailored to teen spending and independence
- —PIX and local Brazil financial infrastructure focus
- —Financial education and autonomy narrative
- —Strong organic social/TikTok-led brand building
- —Regulated payment institution in Brazil
- —Localized for Brazilian market realities and side-income behavior
Technology
React Native
React
TypeScript
GraphQL
Apollo
Expo
Jest
Appium
Node.js
AWS
Terraform
MongoDB
Sentry
Slack
Twilio
Git
Customers
Brazilian teenagers
Young adults transitioning into adulthood
Gen Z users in Brazil and Latin America
Parents/guardians of minors
Young people with side hustles or microbusiness income
Competitors
NG.CASH
Nubank teen account
Neon
Ualá
Mozper
Greenlight
Step
Scale & contact
Estimated revenue
$1M-$10M
Estimated monthly visits
5.5K
Traffic estimate as of Jun 2026
Signals & risks
Acquisition
Feb 2025NG.CASH absorbed Z1’s customer base; Z1’s accounts were migrated and the Z1 brand effectively stopped operating separately.
SourceLatest news
Mobills · Feb 2025
Follow-up coverage of the NG.CASH/Z1 integration, noting the migration of Z1 accounts and the combined scale of the customer base.
Startups · Feb 2025
Reported that NG.CASH absorbed Z1’s user base, that Z1 would cease as a separate brand, and that the transition negotiations began in late 2024.
Finsiders Brasil · Jul 2023
Reported that Z1 received Brazilian Central Bank approval to operate as a payment institution, strengthening its regulatory position.
LAVCA · Apr 2023
Covers Z1’s 2023 financing round led by Homebrew, Parade Ventures and Kindred Ventures, with follow-on participation from other existing investors.
TechCrunch · Nov 2021
Reported Z1’s $10 million Series A, the move to free core banking, and rapid growth in users and revenue at the time.
Jobs and careers at Z1
0 jobs at Z1
No open positions
Check back later for new openings