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Can I use a foreign contactless card or Apple Pay in Korea?

Short answer

Apple Pay is supported in Korea, but acceptance depends on the merchant, terminal and your card. Look for the appropriate payment symbol and keep a physical card or cash as a backup.

What to do
  1. Check the card issuerโ€™s wallet and overseas-use support.
  2. Ask the merchant which payment method its terminal accepts.
  3. For public transport, verify the accepted transit product instead of assuming a bank card can tap in.

If that doesn't work

  • If Apple Pay is refused, pay with the physical card or cash.
  • For subway and buses, set up a Tmoney balance in the MobileTmoney app on a compatible iPhone instead of tapping a bank card.
Check before relying on this
  • A contactless symbol or successful physical-card payment does not guarantee Apple Pay or subway access.
More details and examples Expand

At a glance

๐Ÿ“ฑ Foreign mobile wallets โ†’ Apple Pay: works in Korea โ†’ look for the payment symbol on the terminal โ†’ Alipay+: Kakao Pay, Naver Pay and Toss Pay merchants, and ZeroPay merchants (QR) โ†’ PayPay (Japan): shops showing Alipay+ or ZeroPay / complete ID verification in Japan first / overseas fee 3.85% โ†’ Buying or topping up Tmoney directly in Apple Wallet: needs a Korea-issued card (see "Tmoney on iPhone and Apple Watch" below) ๐ŸšŒ Tapping a foreign card for transport โ†’ Buses and subway: foreign cards can't tap (Jeju city buses only) โ†’ Taxis: accepted โ†’ Some Seoul subway machines: buy a Climate Card or single-journey ticket with a foreign Visa or Mastercard (average fee about 3.7%) ๐Ÿš„ KORAIL train tickets โ†’ Foreign cards accepted / refunds to foreign cards take 2 weeks to 1 month โ†’ Website payment fails โ†’ station ticket counter (Apple Pay with foreign cards also accepted)

Tmoney on iPhone and Apple Watch

International visitors can use the MobileTmoney app to set up a transit balance for a compatible iPhone or Apple Watch. Mastercard announced support for visitor top-ups in 2026. Follow the appโ€™s current foreign-visitor flow and supported-card requirements; paying from a Tmoney balance is different from tapping a foreign bank card directly at a subway gate.

Sources and provider examples

External sources may use another language.

Sources last checked: . Rules, hours and services can change.