Kakao Pay Q1 2026 Earnings: Profit Surges 631% to KRW 32.2B

SEOUL, South Korea — Kakao Pay reported first-quarter revenue of KRW 300.3 billion (US$199.8 million), a 41.7% increase year-on-year, driven primarily by its digital finance and payment services divisions.

Operating profit rose 630.9% to KRW 32.2 billion (US$21.4 million) during the same period.

Net income for the quarter ended March 31 increased 141.5% year-on-year to KRW 34.7 billion (US$23.1 million).

The company reported an operating profit margin of 10.7% and a net income margin of 11.6%.

Total payment volume for the first quarter rose 15% to KRW 50.9 trillion (US$33.86 billion).

Revenue from digital finance operations grew 82.0% year-on-year to KRW 145.9 billion (US$97.1 million), accounting for 49% of total revenue.

Digital payment revenue increased 13.3% to KRW 138.4 billion (US$92.1 million), driven by a 24% expansion in the online non-captive sector, according to Kakao Pay.

Platform services revenue rose 67.4% to KRW 16.0 billion (US$10.6 million).

Kakao Pay's subsidiaries also posted revenue growth during the quarter.

Kakao Pay Securities generated KRW 100.1 billion (US$66.6 million) in quarterly revenue, with assets under management growing 208% year-on-year to KRW 13.0 trillion (US$8.65 billion).

Kakao Pay Insurance recorded revenue of KRW 24.3 billion (US$16.2 million), an 85% year-on-year increase.

In artificial intelligence, Kakao Pay is developing its proprietary 'Pay i' system and expanding integration with the Kakao AI agent ecosystem.

Kakao Pay offers transaction inquiry services via 'ChatGPT for Kakao' and is preparing to integrate payments with 'Kanana in KakaoTalk'.

Kakao Pay also disclosed its participation as the sole South Korean founding member of the 'x402 Foundation,' an initiative focused on establishing global open payment standards for autonomous AI agents.