As the government tightens household loan regulations, warning lights have come on for the revenue models of small and mid-sized fintech firms that grew with loan comparison and recommendation as their main business. The tighter the loan rules become, the more room lenders lose to supply loans, which could also shrink brokerage income via platforms. The industry is scrambling to find new revenue sources in data, artificial intelligence (AI) and business-to-business (B2B) services, moving away from business structures concentrated on loan brokerage.

According to the financial sector on June 22, Woori Bank has stopped accepting new credit loans and refinancing loans through loan comparison platforms such as Kakao Pay, Naver Pay, Finda, Toss and BankSalad since June 12. The move is in line with stronger management of household loans. Products for low-income borrowers were excluded, but for platforms it means a simultaneous reduction in product line-up and brokerage opportunities.

Loan comparison platforms connect consumers to lenders’ products and receive fees when loans are executed. Stronger loan regulations limit lenders’ capacity to supply loans and also affect the volume of loans executed through platforms. Unlike large platforms with diversified portfolios such as payments, advertising and securities, companies with a high share of loan brokerage could face a more direct burden.

Along with this trend, the fintech industry is accelerating efforts to broaden business areas into data, AI and corporate services to reduce reliance on loan brokerage.

Finda, the most active in diversification, is moving to shift its business structure with a push to acquire a savings bank and expand data services for corporate clients.

Finda said it is currently proceeding with the acquisition of Daewon Savings Bank. If the acquisition is completed, it can secure a foundation to expand financial services using a savings bank licence, moving beyond a simple comparison and recommendation platform. In the second half, it plans to go through financial regulators’ approval procedures and flesh out post-acquisition business strategies.

Finda has also begun work with Upstage to build a financial AI agentic platform. Finda will provide financial data, expert review and compliance consulting, while Upstage will develop a finance-focused AI model based on its large language model, Solar. In tandem with the savings bank acquisition, the AI agent is expected to serve as a key pillar of non-face-to-face services.

BankSalad is expanding financial mydata into health data and insurance.

It currently provides AI-based health mydata and AI-based insurance coverage analysis services. It also plans to offer spending, outlay and investment analysis functions through a prospective AI wealth management service called "AI Topping+". The strategy aims to increase customer time spent on its services and insurance brokerage income by combining health and insurance information, rather than staying limited to financial asset management.

It is also reviewing a possible entry into the medical mydata business, and expects it could provide tailored healthcare services linked to medical data.

PFCT has expanded credit assessment capabilities accumulated in its consumer on-investment finance business into AI risk management solutions for financial institutions.

"Airpack" is PFCT’s B2B solution that supports credit assessment using alternative data, loan strategy planning and operational monitoring. PFCT is widening overseas markets by signing an Airpack supply contract with Australian financial firm Finance One following Vietnam, and plans to focus on this area.

In this way, the fintech industry’s new businesses are expanding data and customer touchpoints secured through connections to consumer financial products into corporate solutions, licence-based financial services and healthcare. The efforts aim to reduce revenue structures skewed toward loan brokerage and build new growth foundations from existing services, and various possibilities for business expansion are drawing attention.

An industry official said, "Since growth capacity could be limited with loan brokerage alone, moves are continuing to design multiple business portfolios rather than remain in a single service." The official added, "Business models that broaden convenience for financial consumers based on data and technology will become more diverse."