Viva Republica targets Australia amid Toss’s global push

CEO Lee Seung-gun

Viva Republica Inc., which operates mobile financial service Toss, is set to enter the Australian market as part of its push for global expansion.

According to financial industry sources on Thursday, Toss chose Australia as its first overseas market and plans to begin preparations for establishing a local entity as early as June 2025. The company aims to launch an app in Australia that is like the one currently available in South Korea. Although the launch date is yet to be finalized, the service could debut later in the year or in 2026.

“Australia is very likely to be our first global market,” a Toss official said, adding that the launch timeline remains undecided. It is possible that this is due to Australia’s relatively flexible regulatory environment, strong digital adoption, and well-developed financial infrastructure.

Viva Republica Chief Executive Officer Lee Seung-gun identified global expansion as a key pillar of the company’s mid- to long-term growth strategy at Toss’s 10th anniversary press event, where he set a target of having half of its users based outside Korea, and the company plans to accelerate its entry into additional markets starting with Australia. With a decade of growth behind it and its first annual profit recorded in 2024, Toss believes it has established a strong domestic foundation and is now ready to expand internationally.

Unlike earlier broad-based efforts, Toss’s latest global strategy focuses on leveraging specific product strengths and tailoring its super app model to fit the needs of individual markets. The company previously launched Toss Southeast Asia in Singapore, which shut down in 2023. Toss also entered Vietnam in 2019 with a pedometer-based rewards app that attracted more than 3 million users but withdrew after government regulations hindered further service development.