Kakao Pay starts offering investment products

CEO Ryu Young-joon of Kakao Pay explains its plan to offer financial products on Monday in central Seoul. [KAKAO PAY]

Kakao Pay, the payment subsidiary of the country’s top messaging platform operator Kakao, will start offering investment products today.

Kakao Pay hopes to entice its growing number of users to invest in the products, which are mostly peer-to-peer investments.

The unit offers payment services on the popular messenger Kakao Talk. It is taking aim at a client base that is underserved by established investment companies: young tech-savvy people with fewer assets than other investors.

“If you want to get advice from a private banker, you have to have a net wealth of around 100 million won [$88,707] to 1 billion won,” said Ryu Young-joon, CEO of Kakao Pay. “But we think that people with less money should be allowed to invest. This is why we set the minimum investment at 10,000 won and will offer them with mid-risk products.”

Ryu said that simple access to investment goods is what distinguishes its service from traditional investment institutions.

“You don’t need to register because the information is stored on your Kakao Talk, and you also don’t have to visit a branch,” the CEO said.

The CEO also unveiled a plan to expand its payment service to other countries. The first target market will be Japan, since the neighboring country is pushing for wider adoption of mobile payments ahead of the 2020 Tokyo Olympics.

China will be added later, according to Ryu.

The announcement came after Kakao Pay bought a local securities company in a bid to extend its range of financial services and products last month.

Kakao Pay bought Baro Investment & Securities, a small brokerage, last month from Shinan, a local real estate developer.

BY PARK EUN-JEE [park.eunjee@joongang.co.kr]