Toss Operator Viva Republica Logs 53% Revenue Jump in H1 as In-App Services Gain Traction
Key Takeaways
- •Viva Republica's first-half consolidated revenue reached 1.89 trillion won ($1.34 billion), up 53.2 percent from a year earlier.
- •Net profit more than doubled to 232.8 billion won, rising 120.2 percent, as revenue growth outpaced the increase in expenses.
- •The SuperApp Service produced 1.33 trillion won in revenue, or 70.3 percent of the consolidated total, while the Payments Network Service contributed 561.3 billion won, or 29.7 percent.
- •Face Pay, Toss's facial-recognition payment service, surpassed 6 million users in the first half and exceeded 7 million in July.
- •Toss faces competition in South Korea's digital finance market from Naver Pay, Kakao Pay, and apps operated by traditional banks.
Viva Republica, the operator of South Korean fintech giant Toss, reported an increase of more than 50 percent in revenue for the first half of the year, driven by growth across its in-app services.
Consolidated revenue came to 1.89 trillion won ($1.34 billion), up 53.2 percent from a year earlier. Consolidated operating profit climbed 59.2 percent to 246.1 billion won, while net profit more than doubled, surging 120.2 percent to 232.8 billion won.
According to Toss, revenue growth outpaced the increase in expenses, fueling both top-line expansion and improved profitability.
The results mark the latest milestone in the company's rapid evolution. Founded by former dentist Lee Seung-gun, Viva Republica launched the Toss app in 2015 as a simple smartphone money-transfer service, and was valued at $9.6 billion in a 2021 funding round, making it one of South Korea's most valuable financial technology startups. Toss has since become the country's most prominent example of the Asian "super app" model popularized by China's WeChat and Southeast Asia's Grab, which bundle multiple services into a single platform to deepen user engagement.
The company singled out two engines of growth: its SuperApp Service, which offers a broad range of financial and lifestyle services — including money transfers, investments, loans and tax services — through a single app, and its Payments Network Service, which connects online and offline payment ecosystems. In South Korea's crowded digital finance market, Toss competes with platform-linked rivals such as Naver Pay and Kakao Pay, as well as apps run by traditional banks.
During the first half, the SuperApp Service generated 1.33 trillion won in revenue, accounting for 70.3 percent of consolidated revenue. The Payments Network Service brought in 561.3 billion won, or 29.7 percent.
Toss also recorded growth in Face Pay, its facial-recognition payment service. The number of users signed up for the service surpassed 6 million in the first half of the year and topped 7 million in July. The operator said the expansion reflects Toss' growing presence in offline payments as it extends its reach beyond its online offerings. Rival Kakao Pay has also rolled out facial-recognition payment options at offline retailers, signaling rising competition in the segment, which remains at a relatively early stage of adoption in Korea's payments market.
The second-half results will show whether that offline momentum continues alongside the core in-app businesses.
"Toss has been able to strengthen the competitiveness of its individual services through its SuperApp Service, which is built around the strategy of expanding a range of financial services within a single app," a Toss official said.
"Going forward, Toss will continue to reinforce a virtuous cycle in which growth in each service drives broader usage across the platform."
