Is Toss profitable in 2026?

Yes. Toss's operating profit rose to ₩335.9 billion in 2025, up from ₩90.7 billion in 2024 and a ₩206.4 billion loss in 2023, per Sedaily reporting on July 7, 2026, marking a sustained profitability trend.

Did Toss IPO on Nasdaq?

No. As of July 6-7, 2026, Toss's planned Nasdaq ADR listing, previously targeted for Q2 2026 at a $10-15 billion valuation, was put on hold reportedly due to Korean government discomfort, with domestic IPO plans pushed to around 2028.

Toss is operated by Viva Republica Inc., a private South Korean company founded by Lee Seung-gun in 2013-2014. It has raised roughly $1.65 billion from backers including Altos Ventures, PayPal, GIC and Sequoia China, last valued at $7.4 billion in 2021.

Could AI replace Toss?

Unlikely soon. Toss holds Korean banking, securities and insurance licenses plus first-party data on 25-30 million users that a pure AI startup cannot replicate without becoming licensed. Toss itself deploys AI internally, with its AI earnings-call tool passing 600,000 users by July 2026.

Who is Toss's biggest competitor?

Kakao and Naver. Naver Pay led payment volume with ₩56.5 trillion in 2025 versus Toss Pay's ₩12 trillion, while Kakao operates a 36-40 million user super-app; all three actively contest Korea's offline and online payments market as of mid-2026.

What is Toss's valuation?

Toss's last disclosed valuation was $7.4 billion from a 2021 round (about $7 billion in a December 2022 Series G raise of $405 million). A planned 2026 Nasdaq listing targeted $10-15 billion, but that listing was put on hold in July 2026.

Payments companies · South Korea

Toss (Viva Republica)

toss.im ↗

Korean super-app for banking, payments, and insurance with 25M+ users.

Defensible for now

Assessed 21 July 2026 · Evidence as of 21 July 2026

Real protection, with named pressure against it.

On the recordSince 21 July 2026 · Checkable from Q3 2026 · Every call on the record Checkpoint: Next quarterly disclosure on Toss Pay volume, take-rate, and profitability amid the offline payments fight

The call

Toss keeps its license-and-data grip on Korean finance, but its IPO is stuck, its shares have cratered, and Kakao and Naver are testing that grip in payments.

Toss lets millions of South Koreans do banking, investing, insurance, and shopping in one app and has real licenses and a big merchant network that traditional banks cannot easily copy. The company is using AI to catch fraud and help customers manage money rather than facing replacement by AI. The big question is whether its stock value will bounce back when it finally lists on a Korean exchange around 2028, and whether its payment service can hold its ground against Kakao and Naver's competing payment apps.

Why

AI pressure: None apparent. AI shows up as a feature inside Toss, like its earnings summarizer and fraud detection, not as an outside force replacing it. Could AI do the core job? Unlikely.

Bigger players: Kakao and Naver. Kakao's 'Good Deal' payments push and Naver's cross-border QR are fighting Toss for offline payment volume, not core banking users yet. Could a giant copy it? Probably.

What protects it. Banking, securities, and insurance licenses plus 370,000 merchant ties that rivals can't legally or logistically copy fast.

What would change this call

Toss discloses Q2/H1 2026 payment volume and take-rate versus KakaoPay and Naver Pay. Would show whether Toss is gaining or losing ground in offline payments competition.
Korean government issues formal statement clarifying Toss's Nasdaq ADR or domestic IPO timeline. Would confirm whether equity liquidity path is resurrected, delayed further, or blocked.
Kakao or Naver launches a licensed full banking product visibly pulling core banking users from Toss. Would indicate Toss's licensed super-app moat is being breached by a same-market rival.

Key numbers

25M monthly active users, +29% YoY (Dec 2024)
$1.4B revenue, first full-year net profit (FY2024)
Pre-IPO shares down 74% from 2022 peak (Jun 2026)

Named risks

Nasdaq ADR listing on hold since July 2026 due to Korean government pressure, domestic IPO delayed to ~2028. Severity: high
Regulatory pressure over onshoring IPO capital could further restrict listing options. Severity: medium
Conflicting net-profit figures across sources (₩21.3B vs ₩131.8B for FY2024) create reporting uncertainty. Severity: low
Escalating offline payments competition from Kakao and Naver could pressure Toss Pay take-rates. Severity: medium

Rivals, as read in July 2026

Rival	Direction	Evidence
Kakao	contesting	Kakao's offline payment push vs Toss Face Pay's 6M subscribers, reported 2026-06-12
Naver	contesting	Naver Pay led volume at ₩56.5T in 2025 vs Toss Pay's ₩12T
Traditional banks (KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Woori)	gaining on	Structurally barred from standalone super-app model, ceding ground to Toss as of 2026

Questions people ask

Is Toss profitable in 2026?: Yes. Toss's operating profit rose to ₩335.9 billion in 2025, up from ₩90.7 billion in 2024 and a ₩206.4 billion loss in 2023, per Sedaily reporting on July 7, 2026, marking a sustained profitability trend.
Did Toss IPO on Nasdaq?: No. As of July 6-7, 2026, Toss's planned Nasdaq ADR listing, previously targeted for Q2 2026 at a $10-15 billion valuation, was put on hold reportedly due to Korean government discomfort, with domestic IPO plans pushed to around 2028.
Who owns Toss?: Toss is operated by Viva Republica Inc., a private South Korean company founded by Lee Seung-gun in 2013-2014. It has raised roughly $1.65 billion from backers including Altos Ventures, PayPal, GIC and Sequoia China, last valued at $7.4 billion in 2021.
Could AI replace Toss?: Unlikely soon. Toss holds Korean banking, securities and insurance licenses plus first-party data on 25-30 million users that a pure AI startup cannot replicate without becoming licensed. Toss itself deploys AI internally, with its AI earnings-call tool passing 600,000 users by July 2026.
Who is Toss's biggest competitor?: Kakao and Naver. Naver Pay led payment volume with ₩56.5 trillion in 2025 versus Toss Pay's ₩12 trillion, while Kakao operates a 36-40 million user super-app; all three actively contest Korea's offline and online payments market as of mid-2026.
What is Toss's valuation?: Toss's last disclosed valuation was $7.4 billion from a 2021 round (about $7 billion in a December 2022 Series G raise of $405 million). A planned 2026 Nasdaq listing targeted $10-15 billion, but that listing was put on hold in July 2026.

Timeline

2026-07-21Toss Securities AI earnings-call summarization tool surpasses 600,000 cumulative users
2026-07-07Nasdaq ADR listing put on hold amid Korean government pressure; domestic IPO pushed to ~2028
2026-07-01Toss withdraws business-obstruction complaint against Kakao, easing rivalry
2026-06-26Toss partners with Poseidon to let 30 million users monetize data for AI training
2026-06-12Face Pay reaches 6 million subscribers across 370,000 merchants
2025-12-17Toss Bank announces AI Agent for financial counseling
2025-09-23Toss Bank Kids service surpasses 1 million accounts
2025-08-14Q2 2025 consolidated revenue reaches ₩668 billion, up 41% YoY
2025-05-27Credit Subscription Service passes 450,000 subscribers in first year
2025-03-28FY2024 results show first full-year net profit and 25 million MAU

Head to head

Naver Pay vs Toss (Viva Republica)

Revision history

21 July 2026

First assessed. Defensible for now. The text above is fixed as of this date and is not edited afterwards.

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