Toss aims to become a ‘super app’ beyond finance

Viva Republica, the parent company of the financial app Toss, has announced its ambition to evolve into a "super app" that extends beyond financial services, marking the 10th anniversary of its simple money transfer service.

At a press conference held in Seoul on Wednesday, Toss CEO Lee Seung-geon stated, “We expect to achieve an annual surplus in 2024, and from 2025, we anticipate recording historic profits.” Looking ahead, Lee emphasized that the next 100 years will not only focus on financial services but also expand into offline domains and global markets. Since launching its money transfer service in 2015, Toss has grown into a major fintech company, offering internet banking and securities services to its 28 million users.

Lee also outlined Toss’s vision for the future, including the expansion of facial recognition-based transaction processing systems to realize a "wallet-free" society. “Currently, around 100,000 offline stores—approximately 6% of the 1.8 million stores nationwide—are using Toss services,” Lee said. “We plan to introduce a safety guarantee system, which will provide preemptive compensation in cases of transaction fraud, such as unauthorized identity use.”

Additionally, Lee revealed plans to make half of Toss’s user base international within the next five years. When asked about a potential U.S. initial public offering (IPO), he said that no decisions have been made yet.

Appearing in casual attire—black shirt, cotton pants, and sneakers—Lee also announced that Toss will invest 1 trillion won over the next five years to support startups and enhance entrepreneurial capabilities. As part of this initiative, the company will release 20 internally developed software tools to the public by the end of June. These tools, including UX, A/B testing, and graphic design resources, aim to help entrepreneurs turn ideas into services without needing programmers or designers.

“It feels like we’re giving back to the next generation of entrepreneurs what Toss itself needed 10 years ago,” Lee said. “Thanks to these tools, we were able to achieve our goal of attracting 7 trillion won in deposits within three weeks of launching our banking service.”

Lee also addressed recent sanctions imposed by financial regulators. In 2022, Toss was found to have combined and used users’ card transaction data with 292.8 million electronic receipt records without authorization. While the financial authorities initially planned strict disciplinary measures, they later softened their stance, sparking public criticism. “The appropriateness of the disciplinary actions is up to the financial authorities to decide,” Lee said, remaining neutral on the matter. “We are not in a position to comment. Our role is simply to comply with the decisions made.”


신무경 yes@donga.com