Five Korean fintech companies, including Toss operator Viva Republica and Wavebridge, have been named among the world’s best fintech companies selected by U.S. business network CNBC and global statistics and market research firm Statista. Only 500 companies were chosen from about 3,500 worldwide, with the Korean firms listed in the payments, neobanking, enterprise fintech, and digital assets categories.
According to the financial industry on the 24th, five Korean companies—Viva Republica, Naver, Kakao Bank, Hecto Financial, and Wavebridge—were included in the “World’s Top Fintech Companies 2026” announced by CNBC and Statista.
The survey, now in its fourth year, analyzed about 3,500 fintech companies worldwide and more than 25,000 data points to select a total of 500 companies across eight categories. Key performance indicators (KPIs) such as revenue growth, innovation, and market influence were assessed both quantitatively and qualitatively, alongside public materials including annual reports, company websites, and media coverage.
By category, payments had the most selections with 115 companies, followed by wealth management technology with 75, alternative finance and enterprise fintech with 60 each, neobanking (internet banking) and insurtech with 55 each, and digital assets and regulatory technology with 40 each.
Viva Republica and Naver were listed in the payments category. The payments category, which includes Viva Republica and Naver, also featured global payment firms such as Visa, PayPal, Stripe, Block, and Adyen. CNBC assessed that the payments industry is expanding beyond online purchases and point-of-sale (POS) payments into real-time fund transfers between individuals and businesses and cross-border remittance infrastructure. Viva Republica was again selected in the payments category on the strength of its comprehensive financial platform Toss.
Kakao Bank was selected in neobanking, Hecto Financial in enterprise fintech, and Wavebridge in digital assets. In particular, Wavebridge, which was listed for the first time this year, was included among the 40 companies in the digital assets category alongside Circle, Coinbase, Fireblocks, and Paxos. Wavebridge is the only company headquartered in Korea in this category. CNBC classified the digital assets category as a group of platform and infrastructure companies that support blockchain-based applications and the use and management of digital assets, rather than tokens or protocols themselves.
Wavebridge is a digital asset infrastructure company for institutions and corporations that has completed its virtual asset service provider registration with the Financial Intelligence Unit (FIU). Based on prime brokerage that combines digital asset custody and trading, it supports institutions’ cryptocurrency trading and cross-border exchange and settlement. It currently provides custody services for 11 types of stablecoins across six currency zones.
Wavebridge also cooperates with global digital asset infrastructure firms such as Circle, Paxos, and Canton Network, and conducted a stablecoin payment proof-of-concept with KB Kookmin Card. Oh Jong-wook, CEO of Wavebridge, said, “This is the result of the reliability and competitiveness of institutional-grade digital asset infrastructure being recognized on the global stage,” adding, “We will advance our payment and settlement infrastructure for institutions and expand global partnerships.”
