NICE Information Service

NICE Information Service was established in 1985 under Korea's Credit Information Act, listed on KOSDAQ in 2000, and transferred to the KOSPI main board in 2023, making it the country's largest credit information institution.

Its operations are organized into personal credit information (Credit Bureau, CB), corporate information, asset management, and big-data businesses, and it entered the MyData business after obtaining a credit information management license in 2021.

The personal CB unit supplies credit scores and inquiry data to banks, card issuers, capital and savings institutions, as well as internet-only banks such as Kakao Bank and K Bank and various fintech firms, and Korea's personal credit-scoring landscape is effectively a duopoly between this company and Korea Credit Bureau (KCB).

The corporate information business converts data accumulated through credit assessment into online and offline business information products, including online information services, data sales, and technology credit bureau (TCB) evaluations.

One brokerage report dated September 2023 estimated the revenue mix at roughly 65% personal CB, 20% corporate CB, and about 15% from big data, debt collection and other sources, indicating personal CB likely accounts for more than half of total revenue.

Subsidiaries include NICE G-Data for big-data analytics and NICE Credit Information for debt collection and asset management, alongside bond-valuation firm NICE P&I acquired in 2024, advertising agencies Aims Media and Well Communications, and 2025 additions NICE Investing, a capital-market consulting entity, and marketing agency J Bridge Company.

Credit rating is a licensed business requiring Financial Services Commission approval, creating high entry barriers, though telecom carriers and fintech companies have recently developed alternative credit-scoring models that indirectly enter the personal credit assessment space, altering the competitive backdrop.

In MyData, the company operates NICE MaaS (MyData-as-a-Service), a subscription offering aimed at non-MyData licensees, as it seeks to expand this service line.

Annual revenue rose for four consecutive years, from KRW 479.9 billion in 2022 to KRW 485.7 billion in 2023, KRW 535.0 billion in 2024, and KRW 602.1 billion in 2025, while operating profit dipped slightly from KRW 71.6 billion in 2022 to KRW 65.3 billion in 2023 before recovering to KRW 86.8 billion in 2024 and KRW 104.4 billion in 2025.

The operating margin declined to 14.9% in 2022 and 13.5% in 2023 before improving to 16.2% in 2024 and 17.3% in 2025, showing a clear profitability recovery.

Net income attributable to owners grew steadily from KRW 52.7 billion in 2022 to KRW 56.0 billion in 2023, KRW 76.1 billion in 2024, and KRW 77.2 billion in 2025, while operating cash flow expanded from KRW 71.8 billion in 2022 to KRW 120.9 billion in 2025, indicating improving earnings quality alongside profit growth.

On a quarterly basis, revenue and operating profit held at similar levels between Q2 2025 (KRW 151.3 billion revenue, KRW 27.6 billion operating profit) and Q3 2025 (KRW 151.1 billion revenue, KRW 27.0 billion operating profit), but Q4 2025 saw revenue rise to KRW 157.6 billion even as operating profit fell to KRW 24.8 billion and owner net income dropped sharply to KRW 13.5 billion from KRW 22.5 billion the prior quarter.

This pattern suggests possible year-end one-off costs or seasonal effects, though the precise cause beyond disclosed figures would require further confirmation.

Performance then rebounded in Q1 2026 with KRW 156.0 billion revenue, KRW 29.4 billion operating profit and KRW 25.2 billion owner net income, and Q2 2026 posted KRW 163.2 billion revenue, KRW 32.9 billion operating profit and KRW 25.4 billion owner net income, the highest levels for both revenue and operating profit within the disclosed quarterly window.

Summing the most recent four quarters (Q3 2025 through Q2 2026), owner net income reached approximately KRW 86.5 billion, indicating that the H1 2026 improvement offset the temporary Q4 2025 slowdown.

Shareholders' equity attributable to owners also grew from KRW 341.6 billion in 2022 to KRW 463.9 billion in 2025, reflecting continued capital accumulation from retained earnings.

Korea's personal credit bureau market has long been characterized by a duopoly between NICE Information Service and Korea Credit Bureau (KCB), sustained by high licensing-based entry barriers.

According to data compiled by FnGuide, cumulative consolidated revenue for the first nine months of 2025 rose 14.5% year on year, operating profit rose 24.0%, and net income rose 15.2%, a trend attributed to expanded household lending amid rate cuts and growing platform-linked lending that boosted credit bureau service usage.

The corporate information business maintains a relatively stable revenue base through online information services, data sales and technology credit evaluations, with MyData market growth cited as an additional driver.

That said, the three major telecom carriers and various fintech firms have developed alternative credit-scoring models using telecom and payment data that indirectly enter the personal credit assessment space, a factor that is gradually accumulating as a source of change to the incumbents' near-monopoly position.

The MyData industry itself has expanded since the 2020 Data 3 Acts came into force to include a wide range of financial and fintech participants, and the company has responded through its subscription-based MaaS offering aimed at non-MyData licensees.

In terms of competitive positioning, the company tends to emphasize its unique status as the only player spanning personal CB, corporate information, asset management and big data simultaneously.

Between 2024 and 2025, the company expanded its portfolio beyond core credit information through successive acquisitions of NICE P&I (bond and fund valuation), Aims Media and Well Communications (advertising agencies), NICE Investing (capital-market consulting), and J Bridge Company (marketing agency).

Of these, NICE Investing was established specifically to pursue new capital-market business, with the company stating the new entity's purpose was to expand capital-market consulting.

The J Bridge Company acquisition is understood to target synergies with the existing advertising business run through Aims Media, with expectations of complementary capabilities in local branding and content marketing.

In MyData, the company continues to operate consumer-facing platforms including NICE MaaS for non-MyData licensees, a loan comparison service, and a subscription credit-management service, seeking to expand data-driven offerings.

In November 2025, the company was confirmed to have signed a KRW 5 billion treasury-stock trust contract (MMT) with Mirae Asset Securities, following an earlier KRW 8 billion contract with Korea Investment & Securities, indicating such trusts are being used as a shareholder-return policy tool.

Looking ahead, key points to watch include when the recently acquired subsidiaries' contributions are reflected in a full annual set of financial statements, and how the core personal CB business's sensitivity to interest rates and household lending evolves alongside this.

Changes in the policy and regulatory environment surrounding MyData and alternative credit scoring also remain variables that could affect the business structure.