Korea’s P2P platform Toss draws $40 mn from GIC, Sequoia Capital

Viva Republica, a South Korean startup that operates peer-to-peer payment app Toss, said Monday it pulled in $40 million from Singapore’s sovereign wealth fund GIC and venture capital firm Sequoia Capital China.

This is GIC’s first investment in a Korean fintech startup, according to the company. It is also the first financing in a Korean company for Sequoia Capital, an early investor in tech giants like Google, Apple and Alibaba.

The latest investment brings Viva Republica’s total funding to 130 billion won ($117.7 million), including $48 million from PayPal and Silicon Valley venture capital firms Goodwater Capital and Altos Ventures.

Toss is a mobile app that allows users to conduct peer-to-peer money transfers, access their accounts, manage credit scores, take out loans, and use insurance and card finance services. Launched in February 2015, it now has more than 8 million registered users with monthly remittance transactions averaging 1.5 trillion won a month.

“The latest fundraising would significantly help grow the business of Toss,” said an official from Viva Republica.

Viva Republica has been rapidly expanding its financial services platform to include real estate and fund micro-investing, bitcoin transactions, customized lending, and travel insurances.

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