[Herald Interview] Kakao Pay-Siebert mashup picks up speed

With the domestic market rapidly nearing saturation, going global has become a must for Kakao Pay, the online payment unit of South Korean tech giant Kakao Corp.

However, one of its key challenges is raising brand awareness among global users. In order to speed up the process, the company has recently decided to team up with US brokerage firm Siebert.

With a goal to acquire a majority stake of up to 51 percent in Siebert with a total investment of approximately $77.38 million, Kakao Pay purchased a 19.9 percent stake for $17.4 million on May 18. The remaining 31.1 percent will be acquired after getting approval from Siebert's shareholders and US regulatory authorities, according to Kakao Pay.

Amid high expectations for their partnership, Kakao Pay’s Vice President Shin Ho-cheol, also known as Simon Shin, joined Siebert’s board of directors last month.

"To maximize the synergy between Kakao Pay and Siebert Financial, and take a leading role in their future collaboration, I joined the board of directors," Shin said in an email interview with The Korea Herald.

Prior to joining Kakao as head of corporate strategy in 2020, Shin took on strategist roles at global companies such as Samsung Electronics and McKinsey. Currently, he leads both the payment and corporate development teams at Kakao Pay.

When asked about why the Korean firm selected Siebert as its first partner for overseas expansion, Shin highlighted the US brokerage firm's 55-plus years of experience.

"Along with its long experience, it also has been expanding its service coverage to new areas, all while maintaining a consistent operating profit margin exceeding 10 percent," he said.

Founded in 1967 by Muriel Siebert, the first woman to own a seat on the New York Stock Exchange, Siebert is listed on the tech-heavy Nasdaq. The US firm offers a range of brokerage and financial advisory services including securities brokerage, investment advisory and insurance offerings.

Shin also talked about the US company's impressive growth in performance.

"At the time of the Gebbia family's acquisition in December 2016, Siebert had revenue of approximately $10 million. However, as of 2021, the company has rapidly grown and achieved a revenue of around $67 million," he said.

Back in 2016, Gloria Gebbia, the current controlling shareholder and board member of Siebert, acquired 91 percent of Siebert Financial for $7.8 million.

"Despite recent market volatility, the company continues to build a foundation for future growth by diversifying its business and implementing various initiatives to reflect users' needs," he added.

When asked about Kakao Pay's potential contributions in collaboration with Siebert, Shin highlighted their experience in the Korean market, where they have catered to users and investors with sophisticated demands.

Last year, Kakao Pay recorded an annual active user count of 30 million, an annual transaction volume of 118 trillion won, and approximately 3.2 billion annual transactions, Shin added.

When discussing the synergy between the two companies, Shin emphasized that the initial impact of this collaboration would be evident to Korean Kakao Pay users who use Kakao Securities' trading services.

"We will offer 24-hour trading support for US stock trading through the Kakao Securities platform to enhance user convenience," he said.

He noted that Kakao Pay's brokerage arm currently holds the distinction of having the lowest commission rate in the industry at 0.05 percent in Korea, and added that the company's goal is to further reduce the commission fee by leveraging its partnership with the US firm.

In addition, Shin explained that the two companies have plans to integrate Kakao Pay Securities' user-centric mobile trading system with Siebert's US stock trading system.

"We plan to offer this new international stock trading solution, leveraging the combined capabilities of both companies, to overseas fintech firms, including partners in Southeast Asia," he said.

He also said that the company's long-term goal is to launch its service in the US market, catering to local investors there.