Before becoming a founder, Fern\u00e1ndez built his career in European banking, specializing in credit risk. A government-backed project later brought him to the United States, where exposure to the startup ecosystem shifted his trajectory.<\/p>\n
\u201cI landed in the U.S. and saw founders moving fast, testing ideas, and going after massive problems,\u201d he said. \u201cI wanted to be part of that.\u201d<\/p>\n
His first venture, Atlas, focused on blockchain-enabled lending across West Africa. While working with gig workers in markets like Senegal and Ghana, Fern\u00e1ndez noticed a familiar pattern: people with consistent economic activity were excluded from credit because their income did not fit standard definitions of stability.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe banks saw these workers as untouchable,\u201d he said. \u201cBut when you looked at their data, you could see reliability and patterns. The problem wasn\u2019t risk. It was how risk was being measured.\u201d<\/p>\n
That insight led Fern\u00e1ndez to launch Bankuish in March 2020, at the height of the pandemic. Starting alone during that period brought emotional and operational challenges.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt was lonely to start a company during COVID,\u201d he said. \u201cFor the first year, my dog was listed on the website as chief morale officer.\u201d<\/p>\n
Bankuish\u2019s core idea is straightforward: convert alternative income signals into a usable credit profile. The company analyzes data from gig platforms, freelance marketplaces, and creator tools to generate a complementary credit assessment that lenders can use alongside traditional scores.<\/p>\n
\u201cThe future of work is independence,\u201d Fern\u00e1ndez said. \u201cBut the credit system still assumes everyone has a stable paycheck.\u201d<\/p>\n
He argues that traditional credit models rely heavily on assumptions formed decades ago, when full-time employment dominated the labor market. As freelance and creator work expands, those models struggle to reflect real earning capacity.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe\u2019re approaching a tipping point where independent workers may outnumber traditional employees,\u201d he said. \u201cIf that happens, financial infrastructure has to adapt.\u201d<\/p>\n
The company has gained traction across Latin America and is now focusing heavily on the United States, which Fern\u00e1ndez expects to become Bankuish\u2019s primary revenue driver. Over the past five years, the firm has grown revenue 21x and now operates with a lean team of 52 employees.<\/p>\n
Headquartered in Wynwood, Bankuish maintains a strategic presence in Miami while keeping much of its technical workforce distributed.<\/p>\n
\u201cIf you\u2019re building across the Americas, Miami is the natural hub,\u201d said Fern\u00e1ndez, who was recently named an Endeavor Entrepreneur<\/a>. \u201cIt connects markets, talent, and capital in a way that\u2019s hard to replicate.\u201d<\/p>\n Looking forward, Fern\u00e1ndez sees major opportunity among freelancers, gig workers, and creators who generate strong income but lack access to financial products due to outdated credit frameworks.<\/p>\n \u201cI\u2019ve seen people earning serious money who still have to pay cash for major expenses,\u201d he said. \u201cWe\u2019re trying to give those individuals a financial identity that reflects their reality.\u201d<\/p>\n READ MORE IN REFRESH MIAMI:<\/p>\n I am a Miami-based technology researcher and writer with a passion for sharing stories about the South Florida tech ecosystem. I particularly enjoy learning about GovTech startups, cutting-edge applications of artificial intelligence, and innovators that leverage technology to transform society for the better. Always open for pitches via Twitter @rileywk or www.RileyKaminer.com.<\/p>\n ![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/TeamOnline-1024x576.jpeg\")
<\/p>\n![\"Riley](\"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/4q0a7418-1.jpeg\")
<\/a> <\/p>\n<\/a>Latest posts by Riley Kaminer (see all<\/a>) \t<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Jos\u00e9 V. Fern\u00e1ndez still remembers the frustration of trying to rent an apartment in Manhattan. The Spanish native…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":176513,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[15],"tags":[225,227,226],"class_list":["post-176512","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-hialeah","tag-hialeah","tag-hialeah-headlines","tag-hialeah-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176512","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=176512"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/176512\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/176513"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=176512"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=176512"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-fl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=176512"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}