Devdi raises pre-Series A from SJ Investment Partners for rent-payment app JibUp Pay
What's the deal? DevDDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, the Korean fintech behind rent payment service JibUp Pay, has raised a pre-series A round from SJ Investment PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The amount was not disclosed.
JibUp Pay lets tenants pay monthly rent by credit card — without needing their landlord's consent. Tenants upload their lease to the app, which automatically verifies the contract and sends the card payment directly to the landlord's bank account.
Since its launch in December 2024, the platform has processed over US$12.6M (roughly $11M) in cumulative transactions. About 86% of its users are in their 20s and 30s, making it a go-to financial tool for young, single-person households.
Why now? South Korea's rental market is tilting heavily toward monthly rent. In Q1 2026, monthly rent accounted for 68.6% of all rental transactions nationwide — a record high — and 70.5% in Seoul. Yet card payments make up less than 0.5% of the country's US$92.2B annual rent market, leaving massive room for growth.
DevD is already expanding beyond consumer payments. In January, it launched JibUp Pay Biz, a B2B service targeting franchises, small businesses, and co-working spaces. It also rolled out JibUp Pay Partners, an API and SDK solution for enterprise-grade lease management.
The company has partnered with major financial institutions including Hana BankDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, Hana Card, Woori Financial Group, and BNK Kyongnam Bank. It was also selected for the government-backed TIPSDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → accelerator programme.
What could go wrong? Credit card fees could eat into thin margins, and landlords who prefer direct bank transfers may resist adoption. Scaling a payment service in a market where card penetration is near zero also means DevD must educate both sides of the transaction — tenants and property owners alike.
The signal: With card payments accounting for less than 0.5% of South Korea's US$92.2B annual rent market, DevD is targeting one of the largest untapped fintech opportunities in the country. The structural shift toward monthly rent — now at a record 68.6% of all rental transactions — creates a widening addressable market, and SJ Investment Partners' backing suggests confidence that a payment layer, rather than a property marketplace, could be the wedge that modernises Korean housing finance.
Read more: wowtale.net
