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Behind the Bank

Issues · Issue #5 · · ~3-minute read

KakaoBank's other ₩589 billion

How Korea's internet bank earns beyond loans, Bank Jago's profit jump, and the tiny overdraft that lent KSh1.47 trillion.

1. The Big One: KakaoBank, the bank inside the chat app

The story. KakaoBank grew out of Korea's dominant messaging app and is now one of the country's largest internet-only banks. Its latest half shows that more than a third of revenue now comes from outside interest (Yonhap, 5 Aug 2026).

The numbers (H1 2026) (same source):

  • Net profit up 24.4% to a record ₩328B.
  • Revenue up 5.5% to ₩1.64T.
  • Interest income ₩1.06T (up 5.9%); non-interest income ₩589B (up 4.8%).
  • 27.63M customers and 20.32M monthly active users at end-June.

Our read (opinion). Revenue grew 5.5% while profit grew 24.4%. That gap is cost and credit discipline, not a revenue boom. The bigger point is that about 74% of customers use the app monthly (our calculation). That kind of daily use is what lets a bank sell other firms' products, from loans to investments, and earn fees on them.

2. The Scout

Three bets banks and challengers are making right now, and what they tell you.

  • Bank Jago grows with the ecosystem (APAC). Net profit after tax rose 49% to IDR189B in H1 2026, with 20.1M customers by end-June (Bank Jago). What it tells you: in Indonesia, distribution through partner apps is reaching profitable scale.
  • Klarna sells memberships (Europe/US). Paying subscribers reached 2M in Q2 2026, eight times the number a year earlier (Klarna). What it tells you: buy-now-pay-later firms want income that doesn't depend on transaction volume.
  • Starling's SME openings rebound (Europe). SME account openings in April 2026 were more than triple those of April 2025 (Starling). What it tells you: small-business banking is the next battleground.

3. The Playbook: The small-ticket overdraft

What it is. A tiny credit line that covers a payment when the balance runs short. Kenya's Fuliza (on M-PESA) disbursed KSh1.47T in FY2026 (year to March 2026), up 49%. It now has 17.7M distinct users, and the average loan is about KSh218 (Safaricom FY26 results booklet).

How it runs. Offer it at the point of payment. Size limits from transaction history. Collect automatically from the next deposit.

Your move. Count how many card or transfer payments you decline each month for small shortfalls. That is your pool of potential borrowers.

APAC angle. Philippine digital bank Tonik went all-in on lending. 99% of its US$60M+ annualised revenue run-rate came from loans as of April 2026 (Tonik).

Not investment advice.

Sources