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Toss to launch finance app in Australia this year

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Sees overseas growth eventually outpacing home market

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Plans won-based stablecoin once rules allow

(Updates September 9 story to add sourcing for the information

in the 7th paragraph, clarify CEO comments in paragraph 8)

By Cynthia Kim and Heekyong Yang

SEOUL, Sept 9 (Reuters) - South Korean fintech unicorn

Toss plans to launch its "all-in-one" finance app in Australia

this year and expand to other markets, and aims to issue a

won-based stablecoin once regulations allow, said founder and

CEO Lee Seung-gun.

Toss has shown that a startup can take on big banks and

brokers, said the dentist-turned-entrepreneur, who predicts

overseas growth to eventually outpace growth at home.

"We proved in Korea that a startup can compete head-on with

entrenched players," Lee said in an interview on Tuesday. "A

similar model can work globally, especially in countries where

users juggle multiple bank accounts or fintech apps. We want to

bring them into one seamless experience."

Toss has attracted more than 30 million users in South Korea

since its founding in 2015, Lee said. Its first major overseas

push will be in Australia, where a fragmented banking system and

open-banking rules allow room for a one-stop platform, he said.

The fintech has set up an Australian unit which plans to

start core services such as peer-to-peer money transfer by

year-end. It is reviewing other territories, with Singapore

serving mainly as a regional hub rather than a retail market,

Lee said.

"Our long-term vision is not another financial holding

company, but a global internet company built on financial

services," he said.

Reuters reported in July, citing people with knowledge of

the listing plans, that Toss aims to list in the U.S. in the

second quarter of 2026 with a valuation of more than $10

billion. Some market watchers said at that time the valuation

could exceed $15 billion, which would make the IPO the biggest

in the U.S. by a South Korean company since 2021.

The unicorn - a startup valued at over $1 billion - has been

approached by global funds that view it as one of the few

fintechs to deliver on the super app concept, Lee said without

commenting on potential listing plans or valuation.

At home, Toss is in a "perfect position" to lead in the

creation of a digitally native form of the Korean won, Lee said,

as the government works to introduce legislation to ensure

stringent oversight and consumer protection.

The financial regulator is set to draft a bill on the

regulatory framework within this year in line with a government

campaign pledge to allow companies to issue stablecoin - a

digital currency the value of which is linked to another asset

such as gold or the won.

"We will issue and distribute won-based stablecoin - that I

can say for sure," Lee said. Toss is in regular discussion with

authorities to prepare the infrastructure needed, he said.