Ant Financial, the financial affiliate of Chinese e-commerce giant Alibaba, announced today a US$ 200 million investment in Kakao Pay, the soon-to-launch mobile finance subsidiary of Kakao Corp, parent to South Korea’s leading mobile messaging platform Kakao Talk.
Kakao, which now claims 48+ million users, has launched its mobile payment feature Kakao Pay last year. The platform has accumulated more than 14 million members and gradually evolved from payment transactions to offer innovative and convenient mobile financial services including bill payment, remittance and membership management.
Kakao’s board decided in January to form a separate entity for its Kakao Pay financial service brand, tentatively named Kakao Pay Corp. Young-Joon Ryu, who currently leads Kakao’s fintech division, will head the new company.
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