Kakao Pay Q3 Operating Profit Rises 105.4% Year on Year to KRW 32.5 Billion

Transaction volume up 14% year on year to KRW 53.7 trillion
Net profit rises 72% to KRW 32.9 billion
Standalone quarterly revenue tops KRW 200 billion for the first time

Kakao Pay announced on November 3 that its consolidated operating profit for the third quarter of 2026 was provisionally tallied at KRW 32.5 billion, up 105.4% from a year earlier. Its operating margin was 10.7%.

Revenue rose 26.7% year on year to KRW 302.1 billion. Standalone revenue increased 20% to KRW 204.9 billion. Quarterly revenue surpassed KRW 200 billion for the first time.

Net profit increased 71.7% to KRW 32.9 billion. The net profit margin was 10.9%.

Consolidated transaction volume reached KRW 53.7 trillion, up 14% year on year. Revenue-contributing transaction volume (Revenue TPV) rose 22% over the same period to KRW 16.5 trillion, accounting for more than 30% of total transaction volume.

By business area, payment services led growth, rising 25% year on year. Online payments, which performed well at both Kakao-affiliated and external merchants, increased 18%, while offline payments rose 44%. Overseas payments also grew 28%.

Remittance services increased 11% over the same period, driven by growth in stock trading volume. The balance of funds loaded into Kakao Pay Money stood at KRW 2.8077 trillion.

User traffic also remained solid. Daily active users (DAU) surpassed 7 million for the first time, buoyed by increased traffic across core services. Average transactions per user (ATPU) rose 15% year on year to 87, while average revenue per user (ARPU) increased 23% over the same period to KRW 12,388.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization (EBITDA) came to KRW 41.6 billion, with an EBITDA margin of 13.8%. Despite external volatility, the company maintained double-digit margins across all metrics, supported by a solid earnings-generation structure.

Kakao Pay cited accelerated payment growth, the advancement of artificial intelligence (AI) services, continued growth at its investment and insurance subsidiaries, and a stronger foundation for its digital asset business as key achievements in the third quarter.

The company expanded the reach of its AI-powered hyper-personalized services. AI Coach, launched in beta in August, surpassed 450,000 cumulative visitors as of October. Service usage increased, with 43% of visitors using AI Coach to set budget goals. Its generative AI-powered search feature showed promising early results, and the company plans to expand the experience of connecting users to personalized financial services beyond simply providing information.

Kakao Pay Securities is strengthening its fundamentals by continuously expanding its customer base and diversifying its service lineup despite external volatility. The number of monthly trading customers rose 62% year on year to 1.67 million, while quarterly stock trading volume increased 139% to KRW 81.6 trillion, building a base of customers with genuine investment demand. Its portfolio mix also improved, with pension savings accounts reaching a cumulative 600,000. Assets under custody rose 167% year on year to KRW 19.3 trillion, while cumulative net inflows this year reached KRW 10.4 trillion, up 320% from a year earlier, providing a stronger foundation for sustainable growth. Third-quarter revenue was KRW 74.6 billion, and operating profit was KRW 15.7 billion.

Kakao Pay Insurance posted record quarterly revenue. Third-quarter revenue rose 93% year on year to KRW 32.2 billion. Gross premiums written and regularly paid premiums increased 79% and 122%, respectively, from a year earlier. Growth was driven by new products, including pet insurance, as well as mobile phone insurance, where the number of new policyholders increased 127% following the launch of new smartphones. New health insurance policyholders also rose 160% from the previous quarter, helping strengthen the long-term, regular-premium portfolio.

Kakao Pay laid the groundwork for building a next-generation digital asset ecosystem centered on Kakao Super Wallet. It successively formed partnerships with key global players, including Circle, Fireblocks, Grab, and SCBx. Together with KB Financial Group, it held the "Next Finance Korea" event and presented the market with a detailed roadmap for the next-generation digital asset ecosystem.

Kakao Pay CEO Shin Wongeun said, "This quarter demonstrated the company's underlying strength and earnings-generation capabilities, supported by solid growth in our core payments business and improved fundamentals across our financial services. We will continue to drive qualitative growth across the platform through close synergies within the Kakao Group and do our utmost to live up to the trust of the market and our shareholders."

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