K
Kakao Pay
A mobile payment and digital wallet service that allows users make mobile payments and online transactions
About Kakao Pay
Kakao Pay is a South Korean financial technology (fintech) company that originated as a simple payment service within the country's dominant messaging app, KakaoTalk, in September 2014. It was established as an independent corporation, Kakao Pay Corp., in April 2017 to manage the expanding payment services. The initial service allowed users to send and request money from people in their KakaoTalk contacts, leveraging the messaging app's vast user base. Alex Ryu, who served as CEO from 2017 until early 2022, was a key figure in the company's development and its successful initial public offering (IPO). He was succeeded by Shin Won-keun.
Read full description
The company operates as a comprehensive digital wallet and 'life financial platform', deeply integrated into the daily activities of millions of South Korean users. Its primary business is divided into payment services and financial services. Revenue is generated from transaction fees for online and offline payments, as well as from its expanding suite of financial products. The platform facilitates a broad range of transactions, including peer-to-peer money transfers, bill payments, and online and offline shopping via QR codes and NFC. The business model leverages the extensive user base of KakaoTalk, which boasts over 36 million registered users, to cross-sell a variety of financial services.
Kakao Pay has systematically expanded its offerings beyond simple payments to create an all-encompassing financial ecosystem. This includes services such as digital authentication, electronic document management, insurance products (travel, mobile phone, driver), and investment services like funds and securities trading through its subsidiary, Kakao Pay Securities. The platform also offers loan comparison services and personal financial management tools. A significant milestone was its IPO on the KOSPI in November 2021, which aimed to fund capital expansion, reinforce e-commerce partnerships, and develop new growth engines like Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services. The company has also formed strategic partnerships, notably a $200 million investment from Ant Financial (Alipay's parent company) in 2017, to enhance its service offerings.
At a glance
- Status
- Operational
- Founded
- 2014
- Headquarters
- Seongnam-si, South Korea
- Employees
- 1,015
- Open positions
- None listed
- Dealroom signal
- 46.7/100
- Industry
- Fintech
- Sub-industry
- Payments
- Sector
- Fintech, P2P Lending, Peer-to-Peer, Became $1B as Subsidiary, Digital Wallet, Became Thoroughbred as Subsidiary
- Client focus
- b2c
- Investment activity
- 7 companies, latest Nov 2025
- Capital deployed
- $35M
- Preferred round
- ACQUISITION
Knowledge graph
More headlines
Funding history
Company financing events and reported valuations.
| Deal type | Date | Amount | Valuation | Investors | Source |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| IPOOther financing | Oct 2021 | $1.3B | $9.9B | Undisclosed | — |
| GROWTH EQUITY VCOther financing | Feb 2017 | $200M | — | Ant Group | Alipay | — |
Financials
Revenue, earnings and other financial measures where available. Years marked “E” are estimates.
Growth signals
Latest recorded traffic for Kakao Pay is 15M monthly website visits, up 15.4% over the last three months. Kakao Pay's team grew 5.7% over the past year.
Similar companies
Company identity and context are open; selected comparison metrics preview what is available on the platform.
Investments and acquisitions
Recent portfolio relationships for companies that also act as investors or acquirers.
PaywatchKuala Lumpur, MalaysiaEmpowers employees to have early access to their earned salary through our employee benefit solution developed in partnership with reputable banks
$80Mvaluation
PA
PaymintPyeongtaek, South KoreaNon-PG payment solutions for small and medium businesses
$6.7Mvaluation
Siebert Financial Corp (Formerly Muriel Siebert & Co & Michaels J)New York City, United StatesA wealth management company
−$537Mvaluation
GLN InternationalSouth KoreaABOUT What is GLN Global Loyalty Network (“GLN”) is a global integrated platform that offers cross-border use of digital assets and benefits around the world
$86Mvaluation
InbyuSeoul, South KoreaInbyu is an online platform for purchasing insurance
→
PFC TechnologiesSeoul, South KoreaPFC Technologies (formerly PeopleFund) is Korea's leading data-driven digital lender focused on consumer finance. Our mission is to give financial freedom to all consumers through more affordable loans and better investment opportunities
$317Mvaluation
Investors
From Dealroom's funding and investor records, grouped by the round each investor first entered.
Series B and later2 investors entered at this stage
Kakao Corp
Ant Group | Alipay
Source: Dealroom Talent Intelligence.
Global footprint
team presence
Market sentiment
An AI-synthesised read of the highest-engagement posts about Kakao Pay on X, ranked by likes and reposts, corporate channels excluded.
Reading the room on X — pulling top posts and synthesizing themes…
Source: X recent search ranked by engagement (likes + retweets) · Synthesis by Claude · Cached for 1 hour
See Kakao Pay’s full profile on Dealroom
Request a free trial to see the complete deal history, financials, people graph and growth signals.
Takes under a minute. Already use Dealroom? Log in.