Viva Republica lands $410m as launch of new digital bank looms
Viva Republica, the South Korean technology firm behind super app Toss, has raised $410 million at a valuation of $7.4 billion.
Toss has raised $844 million across ten rounds
This latest Series H round boosts the firm’s valuation by nearly three times since its last injection – an August round worth $173 million.
Toss has now accrued around $844 million in funding across ten separate rounds.
Alkeon Capital, a US-based firm, led the round, which also saw participation from Korea Development Bank, Altos Ventures and Greyhound Capital.
Viva Republica is pushing ahead with the launch of Toss Bank, a neobank slated to appear in South Korea around September this year.
The firm’s super app already has 20 million users, 40% of South Korea’s population. Viva Republica claims that its monthly active user figure sits at 11 million.
Its new bank will focus on lending, with an additional suite of savings options. Toss CEO, SG Lee, speaking to TechCrunch, said his firm would avoid relying on interchange fees.
“Toss is different because we already cover all that,” he says. “So, we are focusing on loans.”
Viva Republica claims Toss Bank will be the third-largest digital lender in South Korea once it goes live.
Yet it has had to cosy up to Standard Chartered to ensure its banking licence status. It had originally tried to gain an independent licence in 2019 but was turned down over issues with its ownership structure.
Viva Republica holds a majority 60.8% stake in Toss, but according to South Korean law, only a financial corporation can hold that large a stake in an internet bank.
