South Korea's three major fintech companies -- Naver Pay, Kakao Pay, and Toss -- all continued their growth momentum in the first quarter of this year. Building on their payment businesses, the firms are evolving into comprehensive financial platforms by expanding revenue streams across advertising, finance, insurance, securities, and offline data services.
Naver Pay is actively pushing ahead with its strategy to integrate online and offline data. Naver's financial division posted revenue of 459.7 billion won in the first quarter, up 18.9% from a year earlier. Total payment volume also surpassed 24 trillion won, reaching 24.2 trillion won, a 23.4% increase year-on-year.
In particular, external payment transactions -- payments made outside the Naver ecosystem -- jumped 32.9% from the previous year to 13.5 trillion won, accounting for 56% of total payment volume. This indicates that Naver Pay usage is rapidly expanding beyond Naver's own platform.
Naver Pay is focusing on connecting online and offline data through its offline payment terminal service, “Connect.” By linking search, reservation, and shopping data with offline ordering and payment information, the company is securing valuable consumer behavior data. It is then leveraging this data for advertising, CRM (customer relationship management) marketing, and commercial district analysis, effectively broadening its business into retail and advertising platforms.
Kakao Pay, meanwhile, is concentrating on expanding its financial services and advancing AI-powered offerings. In the first quarter, Kakao Pay recorded transaction volume (TPV) of 50.9 trillion won and revenue of 300.3 billion won, achieving its highest-ever quarterly sales. Operating profit also hit a quarterly record of 32.2 billion won.
Notably, revenue from financial services surged 82% year-on-year, making up 49% of total revenue. Growth in investment and insurance businesses played a major role in driving performance. Kakao Pay continues to expand rapidly across securities, insurance, loans, and wealth management services. Kakao Pay Securities saw stock trading volume exceed 79 trillion won in the first quarter, while the insurance business also posted strong results through expanded consultation databases and diversified products.
Toss reported consolidated revenue of 805.3 billion won in the first quarter, marking a sharp 41.8% increase from the same period last year. The company's growth has been fueled largely by the expansion of its platform-based revenue model. Its profit sources are rapidly diversifying through financial product brokerage, advertising, and investment services. Toss is increasingly monetizing its user traffic across various financial sectors.
Industry observers say the simple payment market is no longer just about transaction competition, but about how effectively companies can monetize payment data and infrastructure by connecting them with broader financial services.
“Payments are now more like a gateway for acquiring customers,” an industry official said. “The real key is how precisely companies can connect the data they secure with finance, advertising, and AI services to generate profits.”
