KakaoPay Q1 Transaction Volume 27 Trillion Won... Operating Loss of 1.1 Billion Won 'Turned to Deficit'

[Asia Economy Reporter Kwon Jae-hee] Kakao Pay announced on the 2nd that its operating loss for the first quarter of this year (consolidated basis) was 1.1 billion KRW, turning to a deficit compared to the same period last year (10.8 billion KRW). Net profit for the period decreased by 68.4% to 3.8 billion KRW during the same period.

Revenue increased by 15.1% to 123.3 billion KRW.

Payment service revenue reached 94.3 billion KRW, up 42% compared to the same period last year, driven by securing more than 1.51 million online and offline merchants and increased user activity.

Financial service revenue declined due to a slowdown in wholesale business sales of its subsidiary, Kakao Pay Securities.

Transaction volume in the first quarter recorded 27.2 trillion KRW, a 20% increase compared to the same period last year. The transaction volume of revenue-generating services increased by 30% during the same period, and payment service transaction volume, including online and offline payments, billing, and overseas payments, rose by 42%.

At the end of the first quarter, Kakao Pay's cumulative number of subscribers reached 37.88 million, and monthly active users (MAU) recorded 21.56 million. The annualized transaction count per user increased by 42% compared to the same period last year, reaching 98.9 transactions.

As of the first quarter, the cumulative balance of Kakao Pay Money increased by 471% compared to 2018, surpassing 700 billion KRW. The proportion of users utilizing three or more services within Kakao Pay rose from 22% at the end of 2018 to 64% in the first quarter of this year.

Kakao Pay explained, "We plan to continue steady growth through business expansion and financial innovation across all financial sectors, including the expansion of online and offline payment businesses prepared for the post-COVID era, diversification of loan brokerage service portfolios, obtaining the main license for a digital non-life insurance company, and the official launch of Kakao Pay Securities MTS."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.