Business - The Korea Times

Toss posts 35% revenue growth in first half of 2025

Viva Republica said Thursday that mobile financial service Toss posted over 1.2 trillion won ($866.8 million) in revenue during the first half of 2025, marking a 35.2 percent increase compared to the same period last year. "The growth momentum that began with the company's turn to profitability in 2024 has continued," the fintech firm stated. "Increased service usage from our strong 30 million user base, along with improved profitability in our core business segments, have driven overall performance growth." Operating profits reached 154.6 billion won, while net profits came in at 105.7 billion won, driven by robust performance in the consumer and merchant service divisions. The consumer services division generated 802.1 billion won in revenue, representing 64.9 percent of its total revenue in the first half. This segment includes services such as money transfers, brokerage, advertising, payments, commerce, securities, tax and authentication. Leveraging a user base that now reaches 60 percent of the Korean population, the division has continued to expand its share of revenue. Meanwhile, t

Aug 14, 2025By Lee Yeon-woo

Toss posts 35% revenue growth in first half of 2025

Hana Bank, BIDV partner to expand cross-border QR payment services

Hana Bank said Wednesday it signed an agreement with Vietnam's largest state-owned commercial bank to promote cross-border QR payment services. The Korean bank said it signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Joint Stock Commercial Bank for Investment and Development of Vietnam (BIDV) during the Korea-Vietnam Business Forum in Seoul on Tuesday. The agreement outlines the terms of their expanded partnership, following Hana’s acquisition of a 15 percent stake in BIDV in 2019. Their digital finance collaboration has been managed by GLN International, Hana Bank’s fintech arm. For instance, GLN has operated a QR code-based cash withdrawal service in Vietnam since 2022, allowing users to withdraw cash from approximately 2,100 BIDV ATMs nationwide using the Hana One Q app — all without a physical card. “In this context, the new MOU is expected to further deepen digital financial cooperation between the two countries by enabling individuals and businesses to access financial services more easily and securely,” Hana Bank CEO Lee Ho-seong said. “We aim to establish a cross-border

Aug 13, 2025By Yi Whan-woo

Hana Bank, BIDV partner to expand cross-border QR payment services

Kbank posts record quarterly profit in Q2

Kbank said Wednesday that it posted a net profit of 68.2 billion won ($49.2 million) in the second quarter, a record high for quarterly earnings since its 2017 launch as Korea’s first internet-only bank. The April-June net profit represents a 96.3 percent increase from the same period last year. The bank said its deposit balance rose 22.5 percent year-on-year to 26.8 trillion won, while its loan balance grew 10.8 percent over the same period to reach 17.4 trillion won. “The record-high quarterly profit was made possible through the growth of customer banking, with a notable increase in loans to individual business owners and strong asset quality management,” the bank said. “We will continue to pursue stable growth and enhanced profitability by strengthening product competitiveness and implementing sophisticated credit risk management.” However, regarding its first-half performance, the bank said its net profit dipped 1.3 percent year-on-year to 84.2 billion won. In the first half of 2024, the bank posted a net profit of 85.4 billion won, which was the highest for any correspondin

Aug 13, 2025By Yi Whan-woo

Kbank posts record quarterly profit in Q2

Card issuers wary of government's bad bank plan amid rising delinquency rates

Credit card issuers are voicing concerns that the government’s debt relief program, called the bad bank initiative, could further weigh on their profitability as they are already facing higher credit costs due to rising delinquency rates, industry officials said Tuesday. But some in the industry say the plan could aid in clearing nonperforming loans, depending on the cost-sharing arrangements. The state-run Korea Asset Management Corp. is moving forward with plans to set up a bad bank worth 800 billion won ($576 million), aimed at restructuring debt for financially vulnerable individuals. A bad bank is an entity that purchases nonperforming assets or loans at a discounted rate to facilitate their resolution. This initiative focuses on individuals holding unsecured debts of up to 50 million won that have been delinquent for over seven years. Half of the 800 billion won funding — 400 billion won — is expected to come from contributions by financial institutions. The government initially planned for banks to shoulder the full 400 billion won, but later expanded the burden to include se

Aug 12, 2025By Jun Ji-hye

Card issuers wary of government's bad bank plan amid rising delinquency rates

Foreigners net purchase over $4.8 bil. of Korean stocks, bonds in July

Foreign investment in Korean securities and bonds recorded a net inflow in July amid a positive outlook for U.S. tariff negotiations and the performance of local companies, the central bank said Tuesday. Offshore investors purchased a net $4.83 billion worth of Korean stocks and bonds last month, according to data from the Bank of Korea (BOK). By type, offshore investors net purchased $2.4 billion worth of local stocks while scooping up a net $2.43 billion worth of local bonds. The country has seen a net inflow of foreign capital for three consecutive months since May, though the July figure is slightly lower compared with that of June at $5.08 billion, the BOK noted. "Anticipation that uncertainties surrounding tariff negotiations with the U.S. would ease and the performance of local companies would improve contributed to the foreign capital inflow in the stock market," the BOK said.

Aug 12, 2025By Yonhap

Foreigners net purchase over $4.8 bil. of Korean stocks, bonds in July

Korean banks ramp up QR payment push in Southeast Asia

Korean banks are actively expanding their QR code payment services, allowing customers to pay by scanning QR codes with their smartphones, industry officials said Tuesday. In particular, they view the Southeast Asian market as a promising new source of revenue, given that QR payments have become common there amid relatively low credit card usage. By targeting not only Korean tourists visiting Southeast Asia but also the region’s 700 million local users, the lenders aim to secure an early lead in the market and capture transaction fee revenues. Hana Bank’s fintech subsidiary GLN International, which spun off in 2021 to develop a global payment and settlement network, recorded QR payment transactions worth 31.8 billion won ($23 million) in the first half of this year, about 10 times the 3.2 billion won posted in the same period of 2022. GLN’s QR payment services mainly focus on Southeast Asia, with Thailand accounting for more than 60 percent of the total transaction volume. Other key markets include Laos, which accounts for 24.1 percent of transactions, Japan with 11.6 percent and V

Aug 12, 2025By Jun Ji-hye

Korean banks ramp up QR payment push in Southeast Asia

Banks race to win over Gen Alpha with teen-only financial services

Banks and credit card companies are aggressively introducing financial platforms and mobile content targeting Generation Alpha, defined as those born from 2010 onward, in a bid to capture teenage customers, industry officials said Monday. Mindful of a demographic that comprises over 8 million potential future consumers, Toss Teens — a dedicated financial service for users aged 7 to 18 — has taken the lead in the market, reaching over 3 million users as of May, just 3 years and 9 months after its debut. Viva Republica, operator of the mobile financial service Toss, said Teens is designed to address financial inconveniences faced by teenagers in areas such as money transfers, payments, transportation and shopping. The USS Card, one of the key Teens services, is a prepaid top-up card that helps teens develop independent financial habits. More than 3.2 million USS Cards have been issued since its launch in December 2021. Teens also provides dedicated financial education for youth, as well as a mock stock investment service that allows teenagers to practice investing in both domestic and

Aug 11, 2025By Jun Ji-hye

Banks race to win over Gen Alpha with teen-only financial services

Hana Bank launches gold trust service

Hana Bank said Monday it has launched a gold trust product, allowing customers to safely store physical gold while generating returns through its management. It is the first of its kind in the domestic financial sector. Under the program, customers can deposit gold with Hana Bank, which is then appraised by Korea Gold Exchange Digital Asset. With the customer's consent, the gold is subsequently managed. At maturity, the customer receives both the gold and an annual management return equal to 1.5 percent of the appraised value (before tax and after service fees). The return can be taken in cash or in gold. Enrollment requires a minimum of 100 grams of 24 karat pure gold. Pilot operations began Monday at Hana Bank's Seocho Financial Center in Seoul. Starting Aug. 18, the program will expand to 26 branches — 25 in Seoul and the Haeundae-Dongbaek branch in Busan. With the latest launch, Hana Bank now offers a full suite of gold trust services covering storage, management and liquidation. In June, Hana Bank signed an agreement with Korea Gold Exchange Digital Asset and introduced a gold liqu

Aug 11, 2025By Lee Yeon-woo

Seoul shares open higher on US gains

Seoul shares opened a tad higher Monday tracking gains on Wall Street, as investors awaited key U.S. inflation data this week for clues on the future path of the Federal Reserve's interest rate policy. The benchmark Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) rose 0.93 point, or 0.03 percent, to 3,210.94 in the first 15 minutes of trading. On Friday (U.S. time), the Dow Jones Industrial Average rose 0.47 percent to 44,175.61, while the tech-heavy Nasdaq Composite advanced 0.98 percent to 21,450.02. In Seoul, large-cap stocks were mixed. Chip giant SK hynix rose 2.53 percent, top carmaker Hyundai Motor climbed 0.24 percent and leading steelmaker POSCO Holdings jumped 3.55 percent. Major battery maker LG Energy Solution gained 1.45 percent and leading refiner SK Innovation increased 1.3 percent. Among decliners, market bellwether Samsung Electronics fell 0.84 percent and leading shipbuilder HD Hyundai shed 0.15 percent. Hanwha Ocean, the shipbuilding unit of Hanwha Group, dropped 7.05 percent. The local currency was trading at 1,388.55 won against the greenback at 9:15 a.m., up 1.05 won from the

Aug 11, 2025By Yonhap

Korea’s digital insurers disappearing amid regulatory hurdles, structural challenges

Digital insurance companies in Korea have been shrinking amid steep regulatory hurdles and structural challenges, leaving only two insurers — Kyobo Lifeplanet Life Insurance and Kakao Pay Insurance — as the main players, industry officials said Sunday. According to the Insurance Business Act, an insurance company is classified as a digital insurer if at least 90 percent of its total insurance contracts and premiums are obtained through methods such as telephone and computer communications. In the first quarter of this year, only Kyobo Lifeplanet and Kakao Pay Insurance met these standards, as they each generated 100 percent of their sales through online channels. The figure for Carrot General Insurance, the nation’s first digital non-life insurer, stood at 89.1 percent. On Sept. 10, Hanwha General Insurance is set to absorb its subsidiary, Carrot General Insurance. Established in 2019, Carrot has faced ongoing losses and worsening financial health, leading to the decision to merge it back into its parent company. Hana General Insurance and Shinhan EZ General Insurance, which once po

Aug 10, 2025By Jun Ji-hye

Banking & Finance