Korean payments app Toss raises $40m
Viva Republica, Korea’s foremost fintech startup and maker of financial services app Toss, announced today that it has completed a $40 million round of funding from GIC and Sequoia China, bringing the company’s total amount of funding raised to $116 million.
Started as a P2P money transfer service in 2015, Toss has now expanded into a platform providing a full suite of financial services, allowing users to easily manage every facet of their daily financial lives. Beyond money transfers, users can now conveniently utilize an array of consumer finance services within a single app, including a financial dashboard, credit score management, customized loan/insurance plans, as well as multiple investment services.
With more than 8 million registered users, a customer base that has nearly doubled from a year ago, Toss is expected to process over $17 billion in transaction run-rate and has a total trackable monthly transaction volume of about $10 billion.
“Toss’ evolution as a mobile financial services platform is very impressive. In addition to a seamless user experience and robust technology stack, the company’s monetization strategy and revenue growth are also remarkable. In Toss, we see all the signs of a successful company that we’ve witnessed in our portfolio – companies that have grown to become Asia’s leading unicorns. We strongly believe that Toss will dominate the Korean market and become a fintech giant,” said Glen Sun, Partner of Sequoia China.
This funding is GIC’s first investment in a startup in Korea and Sequoia China’s first investment in a Korean company. With this bridge funding round, Viva Republica will gain significant momentum in accelerating its growth and enhancing product development.
“We are proud and honored to become partners with GIC and Sequoia China – some of the world’s most prominent investors. This bridge round is a strategic investment which will enable us to explore major opportunities such as investments and acquisitions to become the go-to service for all consumer financial needs while providing superb user experience,” said SG Lee, co-founder and CEO of Viva Republica.
