Kakao Pay moves step closer to operating data-driven fin service My Data

[Photo by Kakao Pay Corp.]

Kakao Pay Corp., the fintech unit of South Korea’s platform giant Kakao Corp., is given another chance to operate the state-initiated data-driven personalized financial service called My Data after it gained a preliminary approval from the financial regulators.

The Financial Services Commission (FSC) said Wednesday that it gave preliminary approval to Kakao Pay for My Data business.

“Kakao pay has been already providing My Data-like business and it has now become qualified to engage in the business by meeting the major shareholder eligibility requirement under the credit information act,” said an official from the FSC.

The company failed to gain a license for My Data operation earlier this year.

My Data is a business, which integrates dispersed credit information of customers across different financial institutions such as banks, insurers and credit card firms to offer them personalized financial services.

The company could not get a final go-ahead early this year after its preliminary review process had been delayed because of the failure to confirm whether Ant Group, Kakao Pay’s second largest shareholder, is subject to criminal charges or penalties by the Chinese authorities.

Ant Group, the China’s biggest payment service provider that owns Alipay Singapore Holding, holds a 43.9 percent stake in Kakao Pay as the second largest shareholder.

Kakao Pay is expected to apply for a final approval within this month.

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