Kakao Pay to launch digital insurance service after obtaining FSC's approval

KakaoPay, a mobile payment and digital wallet service in South Korea is set to enter the non-life insurance market in the country after receiving the “go” signal from financial regulators.

According to The Korea Times, KakaoPay was granted the approval to add digital insurance to the services it offers. The Financial Services Commission’s (FSC) decision to allow the company to proceed with its non-life digital insurance service was revealed on Wednesday, April 13.

KakaoPay was only launched by the fintech giant, Kakao, last year, and its creation is actually part of the preparation for the company’s plan to enter into the digital insurance business. Kakao has apparently succeeded in obtaining all the required approval from the FSC, so it can now push forward and officially begin its business in the country’s non-life insurance industry.

For its part, the FSC said that Kakao Pay complied and met all the legal requirements to become an insurance business operator. The regulator added that the company has sufficient capital, a good business plan, and necessary management attributes traits, so it approved its application.

Kakao was revealed to have a capital of ₩100 billion or around $81.4 million for its insurance business plans. More than half of the amount was funded by Kakao Pay which is 60% and the remaining 40% was handed out by Kakao. With the go signal, the new fintech insurance company is expected to be launched as early as the third quarter of this year.

It was noted that this is the first time that the FSC has authorized a fintech digital insurer to offer insurance products in South Korea. Kakao Pay promised to lead technological innovations in the non-life insurance segment in the country after gaining approval.

"As the country's first fintech-led digital non-life insurer, we will pursue various innovations while lowering the entry bar for customers," Kakao Pay’s insurance unit’s chief executive officer, Choi Se-hoon, said in a statement.

Kakao Pay’s chief, Shin Won Keun, added that its digital insurance division would focus on boosting and offering more benefits for consumers. "Through the insurance business that removes any existing prejudice against the sector, the company will focus on bringing about overall changes in the industry and increase benefits for customers," he said.