IPOs next step for licensed P2P lending platforms

Licensed peer-to-peer (P2P) lending platforms in Korea have begun to push ahead with various strategies for survival, including initial public offerings (IPOs), amid difficulties resulting from recent decisions by Kakao Pay, Toss and Banksalad to end their partnerships with the online lending platforms that enable individuals to obtain loans directly from other individuals.

Among the licensees registered as “online investment-linked financial companies,” Together Funding and 8Percent are vying with each other to become the nation’s first P2P lending platform listed on the stock market.

On top of the attempts to go public, some of the licensed P2P lending platforms here are trying to attract large-scale investments for their continuous operations. In addition, P2P lending platforms are going all out to make their own websites and apps more attractive, as they have been unable to advertise themselves on the major Fintech apps.