[THE INVESTOR] Viva Republica, the Korean fintech startup that is behind mobile payment app Toss, on June 18 said it received US$40 million investments from Singapore’s sovereign fund GIC and Sequoia China.
 
The deal brings the total funding raised by Viva Republica to US$116 million, including the past funds from PayPal, Goodwater Capital and Altos Ventures. It is both GIC and Sequoia China’s first investment in a Korean startup. 

“This bridge round is a strategic investment which will enable us to explore major opportunities such as investments and acquisitions to become the go-to service for all consumer financial needs while providing superb user experience,” co-founder and CEO of Viva Republica Lee Seung-gun, said in a statement.

Established in 2015, Toss is most famous for its peer-to-peer money transfer that allows users to send money easily without using any authentication certificate. Dubbed Korea’s Venmo, Toss has grown into a platform that offers diverse consumer finance services, including savings account, credit score management, insurance, loans and investments in stocks, funds, real estate and Bitcoin. 

Toss has more than 8 million registered users, almost double that of from a year ago. With monthly transfer volume reaching around 1.5 trillion won (US$1.35 billion), it boasts US$10 billion of traceable transaction volumes per month.

By Ahn Sung-mi (sahn@heraldcorp.com)