Hanpass eyes Kosdaq debut to scale global cross-border fintech push

Foreigner-focused platform prices IPO at top of band after strong demand

Hanpass CEO Kim Kyung-hoon (Hanpass)

Hanpass, a South Korean fintech firm specializing in overseas remittances for foreign residents, is set to debut on the Kosdaq this month, aiming to evolve into a global cross-border “super app” as it accelerates overseas expansion.

The company said Tuesday that it finalized its initial public offering price at 19,000 won ($13) per share — the top end of its indicative range — after drawing strong institutional demand. In a book-building process held March 6-12, some 2,229 institutional investors participated, with 99 percent submitting bids at or above the upper band, resulting in a competition ratio of 1,172.6 to 1.

Hanpass plans to raise about 20.9 billion won, implying a post-listing market capitalization of around 200 billion won. Korea Investment & Securities is the lead underwriter, with Daishin Securities as co-manager. The firm is scheduled to list on March 25, with retail subscriptions taking place March 16-17.

Founded in 2017, Hanpass operates a cross-border remittance platform built around a prefunding model, which allows it to cut fees by up to 90 percent compared with traditional bank transfers via the SWIFT network and reduce transfer times to under five minutes.

The company has established a network of more than 50 global money transfer operators across over 200 countries. Its app supports more than 18 languages and provides customer service in over 20 languages year-round, reflecting its focus on foreign users in Korea. Roughly half of its 330 employees are multinational staff from more than 20 countries.

Building on its remittance business, Hanpass has been expanding into a broader lifestyle and financial platform. Its services now include digital wallets and payments, mobility booking, intercity transport reservations, e-commerce, job matching and visa consulting — targeting the daily needs of foreign residents.

The company is also moving into data-driven financial services, including loan comparison and insurance products tailored to foreign users, as part of its push into the MyData sector.

Hanpass has posted rapid growth, with cumulative overseas remittance volume surpassing 12 trillion won. Over the past three years, remittance volume grew at an annual average rate of 28.8 percent. The platform has over 1 million registered users and about 420,000 monthly active users, processing roughly 15,000 transactions daily.

Financially, the company reported 66.4 billion won in revenue and 8.2 billion won in operating profit in 2025 on a preliminary basis. While revenue grew at a compound annual rate of 46.8 percent from 2022 to 2025, operating profit expanded at a faster 121 percent pace, indicating improving profitability.

Hanpass is now entering an execution phase for overseas expansion, having established licensed entities in Japan and Australia, while pursuing licensing in the Philippines. The company aims to replicate its Korea-tested IT architecture in global markets, targeting not only Korea’s 2.78 million foreign residents but also an estimated 300 million expatriates worldwide.

As a longer-term growth driver, Hanpass is exploring stablecoin-based remittance infrastructure to improve capital efficiency. Its current prefunding model requires holding liquidity in advance with global partners, tying up working capital. By adopting stablecoins, the firm expects to enable near real-time settlement while reducing prefunding needs.

The company sees particular potential in the business-to-business cross-border payments segment, where transaction sizes are larger, and plans to diversify revenue beyond its current consumer remittance focus.

Policy tailwinds are also expected to support growth. The Korean government is promoting tourism with a target of attracting 30 million visitors, while easing regulations, including raising the annual cap for undocumented overseas remittances to $100,000 starting in 2026.

“Through this listing, we will further enhance our foreigner-focused financial and lifestyle platform and leap forward as a global cross-border super app,” CEO Kim Kyung-hoon said in a statement.

Proceeds from the IPO will be used to invest in overseas subsidiaries in Japan and Australia, strengthen information security and infrastructure, and expand platform services and marketing.