$23.8 million in net profit may not seem large, but the growth rate indicates that the penetration of mobile payments in South Korea is still increasing.

Kakao Pay, a South Korean mobile payments provider, reported its first-quarter net profit rose 141.5% year on year to 34.7 billion won (US$23.8 million), according to the company's earnings announcement. Operating profit jumped to 32.2 billion won (US$21.9 million) from 4.4 billion won (US$2.99 mill