Kakaopay Posts KRW 238.3B Q2 Revenue, Turns Profitable

Seoul, South Korea — Mobile payment operator Kakaopay Corp reported second-quarter revenue of KRW 238.3 billion (US$176.5 million), a 28.5 percent increase from the year-earlier period, according to company filings on Tuesday.

The company reported an operating profit of KRW 9.3 billion (US$6.9 million) for the three months ended June 30, compared with an operating loss of KRW 7.3 billion in the same period last year. Net income was KRW 14.1 billion (US$10.4 million).

Total payment volume rose 10 percent year-over-year to KRW 45.0 trillion (approximately US$33.3 billion).

Revenue-contributing transaction volume rose 9 percent to KRW 13.2 trillion (US$9.8 billion), accounting for 29 percent of total transaction volume.

Digital finance services generated KRW 100.3 billion (approximately US$74.3 million) in revenue, an 81.8 percent increase from the previous year and the first time the segment has exceeded KRW 100 billion in quarterly revenue.

The segment accounted for 42% of total revenue.

Within digital finance, investment services revenue increased by 148 percent year-over-year, while insurance services revenue grew by 88 percent. Loan services revenue rose 3 percent from the prior year.

Digital payment revenue reached KRW 125.1 billion, a 3 percent increase from the prior year.

Platform services, including advertising and card recommendation services, generated KRW 12.9 billion in revenue, a 44.8 percent increase from the prior year.

Operating expenses increased 18.8 percent to KRW 228.9 billion. Marketing expenses rose 23.4 percent year-on-year to KRW 20.7 billion, while labor costs increased 19.5 percent to KRW 63.5 billion.

Daily active users totaled 6.35 million, a 3 percent increase from the year-earlier period.

The average number of transactions per user increased by 37 percent to 69 transactions per quarter.

The average revenue per user increased 36 percent to KRW 10,075.

Kakaopay Securities, the company's brokerage unit, reported user numbers exceeding 1 million, a 75 percent increase from a year earlier.

The securities unit's quarterly trading volume increased 101 percent to KRW 23.5 trillion, while quarterly trading transactions rose to 91 million from 24 million.

Total deposit assets at the securities unit reached KRW 5.6 trillion, an 89 percent year-over-year increase. Stock balances increased 131 percent to KRW 3.7 trillion.

The securities unit recorded an operating profit of KRW 5.2 billion.

During the quarter, Kakaopay launched an artificial intelligence service called "Payi," beginning with an insurance diagnosis feature.

The company also established partnerships with eight companies, including value-added network and point-of-sale providers, to expand offline payment services.

The company's advertising business reported revenue growth of 66 percent year-on-year, while card referral services increased 2.6 times from the previous year.

More than 200,000 Travlog debit cards were issued during the quarter.

Kakaopay operates mobile payment and financial services through the KakaoTalk messaging platform.

The company went public in November 2021.

(US$1 = KRW 1,350 as of June 30, 2025)