Kakao Pay Hits 20M MyData Users, First in South Korean Fintech

Seoul, South Korea- Kakao Pay has become the first financial company in South Korea to surpass 20 million MyData service users, representing approximately 60% of the country's population aged 19-64, the company announced on Monday.

The milestone comes approximately three years after Kakao Pay launched its MyData business, which combines payment and remittance services with data analytics capabilities.

According to the company, its "Credit Score Improvement" service helped approximately 2.1 million users increase their credit scores by an average of 21 points between 2023 and 2024.

Kakao Pay reports that its "Loan Refinancing" service has enabled about 20,000 users to reduce their loan interest rates by an average of 1.52 percentage points on loans totaling KRW 1,134 billion (US$793.4 million) over the past two years. 

This has generated an average annual interest savings of KRW 900,000 (US$629.7) per user and a total annual savings of KRW 17.2 billion (US$12 million).

The financial technology company is developing an alternative credit scoring model using data from its proprietary services, including Kakao Pay Money, which it describes as the industry's largest prepaid balance service. 

This model evaluates creditworthiness for individuals with limited financial history, such as students and young professionals.

More than 500,000 users annually utilize Kakao Pay's "Year-end Tax Settlement Preview" service, which provides estimated tax refund or payment amounts and tax-saving recommendations. 

The service automatically filters non-deductible items using MyData payment records to improve accuracy.

On the security front, approximately 120 million accounts are connected to Kakao Pay's "Account Protection Service," which integrates with "The Cheat," a social venture specializing in financial fraud prevention, to monitor for potential fraud risks.

The company has also implemented advanced asset management features, including "Joint Asset Management," which allows family members to manage finances while maintaining individual accounts collectively, and "Financial Secretary," which analyzes user data to provide customized financial information related to loan maturities, paydays, and savings plans.