Viva Republica (Toss) acquires Merchant Korea
- Acquirer
- Viva Republica (Toss)
- Target
- Merchant Korea
- Deal Value
- Undisclosed
- Status
- Completed
- Announced
- July 21, 2022
What happened
Viva Republica, operator of Korean fintech super app Toss, signed an agreement to acquire 100 percent of Merchant Korea, a budget MVNO, marking the first move by a major Korean fintech into the mobile market. Terms were not disclosed.
Why it matters
Fintechs buying or launching MVNOs to deepen daily engagement became a global pattern, and Toss moved earlier than most. The same playbook of bundling banking and mobile later surfaced with Nubank, Revolut and Klarna, all recorded in our launch tracker.
Source: Korea JoongAng Daily
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