Naver Financial

In June 2015, Naver launched the simple payment service Naver Pay, later adding features including a co-branded debit card (2016), a co-branded credit card (2017), and offline QR code payments (2018).⁠[1][1][1][1]

In July 2019, Naver announced that it would spin off its mobile payments division into a new company, tentatively named Naver Financial, with the aim of evolving from simple payments and remittances into a comprehensive financial company. At the time, Naver Pay had more than 10 million monthly users; Naver said Mirae Asset Daewoo planned to invest more than KRW 500 billion in the new company.⁠[2][2][2]

Naver Financial was established on November 1, 2019, with Naver Chief Operating Officer Choi In-hyuk also serving as its CEO. He said the company would provide payment services based on e-commerce platforms and planned to launch financial products such as bank accounts, stocks, and credit cards within two or three years, closely integrated with Naver Pay.⁠[3][3][3][3][3][1]

In June 2020, Naver Financial launched a CMA account product in partnership with Mirae Asset; in November it launched quick settlement for Smart Store merchants and Naver Pay offline payments; in April 2021 it piloted a buy-now-pay-later service, and in August it launched the Naver Pay app; in November 2022 it began loan comparison services for individuals and merchants; from 2023 it successively launched offline payments in partnership with Samsung Pay, loan refinancing, and overseas QR code payments; and in March 2024 it developed the alternative credit scoring model Naver Pay Score with NICE Information Service.⁠[1][1][1][1][1][1][1][1][1]

On September 11, 2025, Naver Financial acquired 420,001 shares of Stockplus Unlisted, the company operating the unlisted stock trading platform launched by Dunamu, for about KRW 68.6 billion in cash, taking a 70% stake and becoming its largest shareholder, with the aim of creating financial business synergies and strengthening strategic cooperation.⁠[4][4][4][4][5]

On September 25, 2025, Naver was reported to be seeking to make Dunamu a wholly owned subsidiary of Naver Financial through a comprehensive stock swap. At the time, Naver held about 69% of Naver Financial, which processed about KRW 80 trillion in payments a year. Naver Financial said it was exploring various forms of collaboration with Dunamu, including stablecoin development, unlisted stock trading, and a stock swap, but that no specific agreement or method had been finalized.⁠[5][5][5][5][5]

On November 26, 2025, Naver Financial’s board approved a comprehensive stock swap with Dunamu, with the aim of making Dunamu a 100% subsidiary to secure future growth drivers based on digital assets. All 34,865,870 common shares of Dunamu would be transferred to Naver Financial, with each Dunamu share exchanged for 2.5422618 new Naver Financial shares; using the discounted cash flow method, the enterprise value ratio of the two companies was 1:3.064569, and the per-share exchange values were KRW 439,252 for Dunamu and KRW 172,780 for Naver Financial. The original schedule called for a shareholders’ meeting on May 22, 2026, and completion of the swap on June 30, 2026.⁠[6][6][6][6][6][6][6][6][6]

The deal requires government approvals including merger approval from the Fair Trade Commission and approval of the change in Naver Financial’s major shareholder under the Credit Information Use and Protection Act, and the progress of these approvals could delay the schedule or cause the deal to fall through. On November 27, Naver, Naver Financial, and Dunamu held a joint press conference attended by Naver Financial CEO Park Sang-jin; Naver described Naver Financial as South Korea’s largest mobile payment provider, with more than 34 million users and annual transactions of more than KRW 80 trillion. The three companies announced plans to invest KRW 10 trillion over five years after completion to develop South Korea’s AI and Web3 ecosystem.⁠[6][6][7][7][7]

On March 30, 2026, Naver Financial filed a corrected disclosure postponing the shareholders’ meeting from May 22 to August 18 and the swap date from June 30 to September 30. Naver said the adjustment reflected ongoing licensing procedures and changes in the regulatory framework, that the deal could be delayed further or even canceled depending on the progress of approvals, and that the Digital Asset Basic Act under discussion could also affect the timing or outcome of the deal.⁠[8][8][9][10][10]

A corrected disclosure filed on April 15, 2026, added details of listing arrangements: Naver, Dunamu, and other related parties had signed an investor agreement under which they would use their best efforts to pursue a listing of Naver Financial after the swap, form an IPO committee within one year, and, if a listing was not achieved within five years, extend the period by up to two years; Naver planned to secure voting rights in Naver Financial so that it would remain a consolidated subsidiary. Whether to list, and the timing and structure of any listing, had not been decided.⁠[11][11][11][11][11]

On July 6, 2026, Naver Financial filed another corrected disclosure postponing the shareholders’ meeting from August 18 to November 19 and the swap date from September 30 to December 31.⁠[12][12][13]

On October 7, 2026, Naver Financial filed a third set of schedule corrections, postponing the shareholders’ meeting to consider the swap from November 19, 2026, to February 26, 2027, and the swap date from December 31, 2026, to March 31, 2027; Dunamu filed an identical correction on the same day. The exchange ratio and deal structure were unchanged.⁠[14][14][15][15]

The deal requires approvals including merger approval from the Fair Trade Commission, approval of the change in Naver Financial’s major shareholder and a concurrent business notification, and acceptance of the notification of a change in Dunamu’s major shareholder under the Act on Reporting and Using Specified Financial Transaction Information; the legislative content of the Digital Asset Basic Act could also affect the progress or outcome of the deal. If a cap on major shareholders’ stakes in exchanges discussed in September 2026 were to conflict with holding company rules, it could affect Naver Financial after the deal; financial regulators said at the time that the cap had not been decided.⁠[14][14][15][15]

Naver positions Naver Financial as a data-driven fintech company that provides financial services by drawing on Naver Pay’s technology, users, and data capabilities, including quick settlement and Smart Store business loans for merchants, and comparison services for loans, insurance, and deposits. The company is headquartered at NAVER 1784, Naver’s headquarters building in Bundang-gu, Seongnam, Gyeonggi Province.⁠[16][16][17]

Naver Financial: Official website: https://www.naverfincorp.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[17]

Naver Pay: Official website: https://pay.naver.com/ (opens in a new window).⁠[17]

YouTubeYouTubeYouTube is Google’s video-sharing and creator platform, founded in 2005 by Steve Chen, Chad Hurley, and Jawed Karim and acquired by Google in 2006. Built around video uploading, viewing, and creator earnings, the platform has developed Shorts, YouTube Music, Premium, YouTube TV, and products for children, and is headquartered in San Bruno, California, United States.Open the full entry: Public channel: https://www.youtube.com/@naverpay.official (opens in a new window)⁠[17]