Financial Technlogy Insights is here again with another article for the Top 10 Fintech powerhouse. This time we have picked up an interesting country of South Korea.
We have frequently written articles on the Top 10 fintech powerhouses for different parts of the world. This blog, we have come up with the Top 10 Fintech Powerhouses for the region of the most discussed country in this world—yes, you are right—Korea!
South Korea’s fintech domain has risen significantly, driven by technological advancements. Here are ten Top fintech companies leading the digital transformation of the financial domain in this country.
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Toss (Viva Republica)
South Korean technology company Viva Republica Inc. provides financing, payment, finance, and stock brokerage services. In 2021, it operated the financial super-app Toss, which had over 20 million South Korean users.It was one of South Korea’s most valuable unicorns at $7.4 billion.After eight failed startups, former dentist Lee Seung-gun founded Toss in 2014 as a peer-to-peer money transfer network. The site added loans, credit scores, and personal investment over time. Altos Ventures invested initially in 2014. The startup later received investments from PayPal, Sequoia China, and GIC.
Kleiner Perkins and Ribbit Capital led a $80 million investment round that made the company a unicorn in 2018. Toss initially expanded worldwide to Vietnam in 2020. Neobank Toss Bank launched in October 2020. Viva Republica raised $410 million in June 2021. Korea Development Bank and Alkeon Capital invested. Viva Republica bought a majority share in Tada ride-hailing company VCNC in November 2021.
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Kakao Pay
South Korean mobile payment and digital wallet provider Kakao Pay lets customers pay online and on their phones. QR codes and near-field communications enable contactless payments. The KakaoTalk mobile instant messenger includes Kakao Pay.Integrating with KakaoTalk, the payment service allowed users to request and send money to contacts on September 4, 2014.Kakao has launched an online bank, KakaoBank, and a debit card since its establishment. KakaoPay Co., Ltd. was founded in April 2017 to manage its payment services.
KakaoPay reached 10 million users 20 months after debut.New capabilities include sending remittances, invoices, and mobile internet transactions. Chinese mobile payment service Alipay’s parent company, Ant Financial, invested $200M in KakaoPay due to its quick growth in users and transactions.
Naver Pay
Mobile payment service Naver Pay is launched by Naver Corporation. Naver’s second mobile payment service follows Line Pay, introduced by her Japanese affiliate Line Corporation in 2014. Line Pay launched internationally on December 16, 2014. Starting June 25, 2015, Naver Pay supported 14 banks, 3 credit card issuers, and 53,000 retailers.Line Corporation, Naver’s Japanese subsidiary, debuted Line Pay in 2014. Naver Pay is its second mobile payment service. Line Pay launched internationally on December 16, 2014. Since then, the business has added offline wire transfers for purchases and ATM deposits and withdrawals. Starting June 25, 2015, Naver Pay supported 14 banks, 3 credit card issuers, and 53,000 retailers. The program provides mobile payments and web checkout for PayPal-like purchases.
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Dunamu
Dunamu Inc. manages virtual assets. Company services include blockchain virtual asset trading, securities trading, cryptocurrency exchange, and others. Dunamu sells in South Korea.Starting with Korea’s largest digital asset exchange, we set worldwide norms for secure and transparent trading.Future fintech and blockchain pioneer Dunamu’s ideals and corporate information.Dunamu connects issues to create new values and earns client trust with world-changing technologies.
Stockplus was established because we believed the securities market would migrate from desktop (HTS) to mobile (MTS). They also believed in blockchain and launched Upbit, Korea’s first mobile app-based digital asset exchange. They were lucky to spot trends and continue to technologically advance the trade of all valuable subjects to make it convenient and easy for everyone.
Bithumb
Bithumb is a South Korean crypto exchange.Xcoin, founded in 2014 in Seoul, became Bitthumb in 2015. BK Global Consortium acquired a majority stake in Bithumb’s largest investor, BTC Holding Co., in October 2018. Blockchain Industries, an OTC-listed holding company, signed a binding letter of intent to combine with Bithumb by March 1, 2019. The Blockchain Exchange Alliance (BXA) would become the first major cryptocurrency exchange to go public by ‘up-listing’ on the New York Stock Exchange or NASDAQ. Despite 2018 revenues climbing 17.5% to KRW391.7 million, Bithumb reported a financial loss of KRW205.5 billion (US$180 million) on April 11, 2019, a significant turnaround from its KRW427.2 billion profit in 2017. The company attributed the loss to a dramatic drop in cryptocurrency prices and trading volume.
Kakaobank
South Korean bank KakaoBank Corp. specializes in mobile banking and financial technology. Korea Investment Holdings and Kakao Corp. formed it in 2016. The banking service went public in July 2017, attracting over 240,000 customers in its first 24 hours. The bank had 17.6 trillion won ($14.5 billion) in deposits and 11.3 trillion won ($9.3 billion) in loans on July 10.[1] On July 11, 2019, Kakaobank had over 10 million customers. Customers exceeded 14.2 million at Kakaobank as of March 31, 2021. KakaoBank exclusively contracted with HSBC to expand into Europe in 2021. In 2021, KakaoBank took over HSBC’s internet banking.KakaoBank wants easier and more frequent customer-bank connections.Your bank is always available thanks to user-centric, advanced technology. A’reboot of banks’, KakaoBank is not just another bank.
KBank
KBank is a Thai banking organization that was once the Thai Farmers Bank. Chhoti Lamsam founded KBank on June 8, 1945, with five million baht in capital. It joined the Thai Stock Exchange in 1976. Thai Farmers Bank PCL became Kasikornbank PCL on April 8, 2003.On June 8, 1945, Kasikornbank (formerly Thai Farmers Bank) was founded with five million baht and 21 workers. First office is now Thanon Sua Pa Main Branch. Thai workers in 1Q2020. The bank had 12 million baht in deposits and 15 million in assets on 31 December 1945, its first accounting quarter.
AIZEN
AIZEN develops AI-powered banking and insurance solutions. By automating big data analysis, ABACUS improves financial services decision-making efficiency and accuracy. AIZEN is a prominent AI credit facilitator integrating data economy platforms with bank partners to enhance loan access. Its CreditConnect platform helps banks diversify their loan portfolios without upfront expenses and helps businesses access the cash they need to scale at the right time. We use our unique AI engine to automate fundamental decision-making across the credit cycle. AIZEN, based on CreditConnect’s modular and easy-to-scale architecture, is developing fast in Asia’s e-commerce SME and EV battery financing sector and moving to the US to promote green technology and EV adoption.
Finda
Finda is a digital lending platform that brings together loan products from a variety of financial institutions. This gives consumers the ability to compare and apply for loans that fulfill their requirements in the most effective manner. Through the utilization of large amounts of data, Finda offers individualized loan suggestions, thereby simplifying the process of borrowing money.
Blocko
Blockchain infrastructure company Blocko provides scalable and secure solutions for finance and other industries. Businesses can use its platform to deploy blockchain technology for transparency, security, and efficiency. Commercial blockchain infrastructure company Blocko lets companies create, deploy, and manage digital services on a secure distributed network. Its value lies in enterprise-IT integration and cloud deployment expertise. A secure blockchain operating system and an easy-to-use development platform with robust APIs are offered by the company. Blocko creates and maintains AERGO, a hybrid blockchain-based open-source enterprise blockchain solution with enhanced cloud deployment.
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