Korean digital banks tend to be a cut above the industry standard, and Toss Bank is no exception. Leveraging the broader Toss super app’s 10 million monthly active users (MAU), the company has successfully integrated payments, stock trading, and lending, improving profitability and user engagement.
While most tech companies outside China have struggled to build super apps, Toss has developed a digital financial services platform that checks many of the boxes. “When we launched our flagship money transfer service, it was loved by so many users, so we were able to grow very fast. We quickly realized that all the other vertical sectors of finance were not covered by other players,” Toss founder Lee Seung-gun told Fortune magazine in April. “There has been a huge void in the Korea market, so we were able to capture those opportunities.”
As it heads toward a 2026 IPO in the United States (that of its parent company, Viva Republica), Toss is riding high, posting record earnings in the September quarter by focusing on both strategic growth and operational efficiency. Toss’s performance is all the more impressive when one considers some of its competitors are facing significant headwinds.
The bank’s cumulative net profit in the September quarter was 81.4 billion won, an increase of 136% compared to the same period last year. Toss has sustained profitability for several consecutive quarters, signaling a stable growth trajectory.
At the same time, its total customers now exceed 14 million. This expanding user base provides a strong foundation for various financial services within the Toss ecosystem.
Toss Bank successfully grew both its interest and non-interest income in the third quarter. Non-interest income jumped 52% annually to 129.6 billion won, driven by an increased inflow of funds and growth in operating capabilities. Net interest margin (NIM) slightly increased to 2.56% from 2.49% a year earlier, indicating efficient management of interest-earning assets and interest-bearing liabilities.
Additionally, Toss’s loan and deposit balances both experienced steady growth, suggesting effective liquidity management. The balance of loans was approximately 15.45 trillion won, while the deposit balance reached 30.4 trillion won. Despite an expansion of loans to mid-to-low credit borrowers (the highest proportion among internet-only lenders), the bank improved asset stability by increasing the proportion of guaranteed products like jeonse (housing rental deposit) loans and private business guarantee loans.
Toss continues to broaden its product portfolio as well. In early December, it announced that it would soon (possibly by January) launch a service that allows direct foreign currency transfers to bank accounts in major overseas countries. Toss Bank plans to provide a “one-stop” service that allows customers to exchange, hold, and transfer foreign currency through a single platform. The currencies eligible for overseas transfers are expected to include the U.S. dollar (USD), euro (EUR), Canadian dollar (CAD), Australian dollar (AUD), Singapore dollar (SGD), Hong Kong dollar (HKD), and British pound (GBP).
Looking ahead, Toss’s parent company, Viva Republica, will begin gearing up for its expected second quarter 2026 IPO. Viva Republica is eschewing a domestic listing in South Korea to seek a better valuation overseas. While the company seeks a valuation of more than US$10 billion, it could potentially be valued at more than $15 billion if market conditions are optimal. The deal is expected to raise between US$2 billion and US$3 billion.
Viva Republica has the benefit of hindsight, having observed its competitor Kakao Bank rush to go public during the early 2020s pandemic-fueled tech boom, only to see its valuation plummet as investors in public markets had doubts about the inflated valuation pushed by Kakao and its heavyweight backers. To date, Kakao Bank’s share price has fallen more than 68% from its August 2021 market debut.
While it is important to seize the day, good things come to those who wait.