Attention is on why Kiwoom Securities, a competitor in the retail market, has teamed up with Toss to attract customers for brokerage-type individual savings accounts (ISA). The industry says the collaboration is an outreach expansion strategy based on the platform.
According to the financial investment industry on the 20th, Kiwoom Securities is running a promotion that gives 15,000 won in cash on the same day to every customer who newly opens a brokerage-type ISA through the Toss app starting on the 16th. A brokerage-type ISA is a product that allows investors to manage a variety of financial products—such as funds, equity-linked securities (ELS), and domestic stocks—in a single account while receiving tax benefits.
What stands out is the relationship between the two companies. Kiwoom Securities and Toss Securities are effectively in competition in the mobile-based retail market. Kiwoom Securities has maintained the No. 1 retail share for 21 consecutive years based on domestic stock trading value, but Toss Securities is rapidly increasing customers and expanding its share by leveraging its platform users.
Despite this competitive landscape, Kiwoom Securities' decision to join hands is seen as a shift to a pragmatism-centered strategy. Analysts say the aim is to secure new customers by targeting Toss users, where those in their 20s and 30s account for a high proportion. As of the end of July last year, Toss had surpassed 30 million cumulative sign-ups, and the overall sign-up rate among people in their 20s and 30s was about 91%.
Traditionally, Kiwoom Securities has secured individual investors mainly through its home trading system (HTS) and its own mobile trading system (MTS), but recently the pace of new customer inflows has slowed. The retail share, which had stayed around 30% through 2023, is said to have fallen to about 25% as of January this year. That is why there is an assessment that securing customers through external platforms has become inevitable.
A financial investment industry official said, "Kiwoom appears to have chosen a strategy to leverage the Toss platform to absorb younger investors," adding, "Given Toss' large number of active users, I understand the event has actually led to customer inflows."
The interests align for Toss as well. Toss Securities has expanded mainly through brokerage services and does not yet handle tax-advantaged products such as ISAs. Accordingly, it is seen as seeking to supplement its product lineup through collaboration with external securities firms and strengthen its platform competitiveness. Toss Securities is planning to launch tax-advantaged products such as retirement savings soon.
Such collaboration cases between platforms and securities firms have continued in the past. Naver and Mirae Asset Securities previously collaborated to launch a CMA-RP. Combining Mirae Asset's asset management functions with Naver's platform traffic and payment benefits, it is cited as a representative case that showed the division of roles between a platform and a financial firm.