Toss joins hands with Crosscert to expand e-sign biz

Viva Republica, a leading financial technology startup in South Korea that operates the money transfer app Toss, said Tuesday that it had joined hands with the Korea Electronic Certification Authority (Crosscert) to accelerate the expansion of its electronic signature business.

The partnership will make it possible to use Toss e-signatures for civil affairs, bidding procedures, contracts and online tax payments, with Crosscert serving as the certificating authority, Viva Republica said.

The news comes as Korea is about to scrap the public e-certificate system, in accordance with the recent revision of the Digital Signature Act, and encourage private companies to launch their own identification systems. The revised act passed the parliament Wednesday and takes effect in November.

Toss has provided digital certification services to five Korean financial institutions, including Samsung Fire & Marine Insurance and KB Life Insurance. So far, it has generated some 11 million e-signatures. The startup is poised to announce partnerships with up to three more financial institutions by June.

Viva Republica and Crosscert have been strategic partners. Viva Republica bought a 5 percent stake in Crosscert in April 2019. Meanwhile, Crosscert joined a group of investors to invest in the nation’s third internet-only bank led by Viva Republica.

Since its founding in 2013, Viva Republica has offered various consumer financial services from e-certificate-free money transfers to financial product recommendations. It is the nation’s only fintech unicorn so far.

By Son Ji-hyoung (consnow@heraldcorp.com)