Korea Briefly

Seoul Subway With Visa, Mastercard or Apple Pay: What Works

Checked · Updated

Facts come from official pages, listed under Sources.

Your Visa or Mastercard won't tap at Seoul's gates or on buses, even from Apple Pay. Since 17 Mar 2026 it does buy single tickets and the city's 1–7 day pass, the Climate Card, at new machines in 273 Seoul Metro stations (Lines 1–8). [1, 2]

Quick answer

  • 1–7 days? A plastic Climate Card from Line 1–8 machines (not airport-railway or Line 9): from ₩5,000 + a ₩3,000 card; Seoul only since 1 Oct. [3, 4]
  • iPhone: Tmoney's app, topped up by Apple Pay: Mastercard, Amex, JCB, UnionPay, not Visa. [5]
  • Android: a plastic card. [4]
  • Cash: buys and tops up plastic Tmoney. [2]

What works with a foreign card

What works with a foreign card
What you try Foreign card? Note
Tap at a subway gate No Use a transit card or a single ticket
Tap on a city bus No Transit card only
Buy or top up a plastic Tmoney card No Won cash only
Top up Tmoney in the iPhone app Yes, not Visa Apple Pay: Mastercard, Amex, JCB or UnionPay [5]
Airport bus to the airport No Tap Tmoney; only some buses take a foreign card
Single subway ticket Yes ₩1,650 at Line 1–8 machines, plus a ₩500 deposit back at the refund machine
Climate Card, 1–7 days Yes Same machines; stations inside Seoul only
AREX (airport railway) ticket Yes Machine or counter, not at the gate
Airport bus into the city Yes Ticket machine or counter
Taxi Yes Card reader; k.ride and Uber Taxi apps

Sources: [1, 2, 6]

Foreign cards pay a service fee averaging 3.7% at the Line 1–8 machines. Single tickets are subway-only and get no bus transfer discount. [1, 7]

Close view of three Seoul subway fare gates, each with a round card-reader pad and a small screen on top, on a shiny station floor
Tap your transit card on the reader on the right of the gate (a round pad on these Line 9 gates, Seokchon Station, 2023), not your bank card. Photo: Striker9498 / Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 3.0 (cropped, resized)

iPhone: Tmoney in the MobileTmoney app

  1. Check your phone: iPhone XS or XR or later on iOS 17.2+, or Apple Watch Series 6 or SE (2nd gen) or later on watchOS 10.2+.
  2. Download Tmoney's MobileTmoney app. Its listing says international users need no sign-up.
  3. Top up with Apple Pay: Mastercard, Amex, JCB or UnionPay. Visa isn't on its list (4 Nov 2026), and the listing doesn't mention a fee.
  4. Tap your iPhone at subway gates and on buses across Korea, like a plastic Tmoney card. [5]

Android: carry a plastic card. The mobile Climate Card needs identity checks with a Korean phone in your own name. [4]

Climate Card (1–7 days): Seoul stations only

Changed on 1 Oct 2026: the passes cover stations inside Seoul, plus getting off at Incheon Airport T1 or T2, and the 30-day pass has ended. [3, 4, 8]

Climate Card (1–7 days): Seoul stations only
Pass Price Cheaper than ₩1,550 card rides from (our sum, with the fee)
1 day ₩5,000 the 4th ride
2 days ₩8,000 the 6th ride
3 days ₩10,000 the 7th ride
5 days ₩15,000 the 11th ride
7 days ₩20,000 the 14th ride

Sources: [1, 3, 7]

No 4- or 6-day pass: buy the 5- or 7-day. The column counts the 3.7% fee but not the card (₩3,000 Climate Card, ₩4,000 Tmoney). Using Tmoney on an iPhone, or already have a Tmoney card? Add the ₩3,000: a 1-day pass then pays off from the 6th ride, a 7-day from the 16th. [1, 4, 9]

  • Each day runs until 04:00 the next morning, counted from the day you charge it: a 1-day pass charged at 21:00 ends then. You can't charge it in advance. [3, 4]
  • Charged between 00:00 and 04:00? It starts at that morning's first service, so not on that night's bus. [4]
  • AREX (airport railway): board in Seoul and get off at T1 or T2; you can't board at the airport. [3]
  • iPhone: it has to be the plastic card; Apple Pay can't hold a Climate Card. [4]

Climate Card: what it covers and the fine print

Show detailsHide details: Climate Card: what it covers and the fine print
  • It covers Seoul subway stations, Seoul city and village buses (night buses too) and getting off at Incheon Airport T1 or T2. Not the Shinbundang Line, GTX (express commuter rail), airport or regional buses, bike share or the Han River bus. [3]
  • Getting off outside Seoul? Staff charge the fare at the exit (₩1,950 from Seoul Station to Bupyeong Market), paid with a transit card such as Tmoney. At Gangnam, use the Line 2 gates. [4]
  • Losing it: only a card registered on the Tmoney Card & Pay site can be refunded, and registering needs a Korean phone in your own name or an I-PIN (which needs an alien registration number). [4]

Subway fares: adults, teens and children

Show detailsHide details: Subway fares: adults, teens and children
Subway fares: adults, teens and children
Who Transit card Single ticket
Adult (19–64) ₩1,550 ₩1,650
Teen (13–18) ₩900 ₩1,650
Child (6–12) ₩550 ₩550
Under 6 Free, up to 3 per adult Free

Sources: [7]

First 10 km; longer trips cost more. Teen and child prices on a transit card need the card registered as a teen or child card first. AREX's own child fares are not confirmed. [7, 10]

Climate Card for teens (13–18): ₩13,000 for 7 days after registering the card and verifying their age on the Tmoney Card & Pay site, which needs a Korean phone in the teen's own name or an I-PIN; otherwise ₩20,000. [4]

Tmoney card: top up with won cash

  • Buy one: the Tmoney Travel Card, ₩4,000 in won cash, at convenience stores and the bus ticket office in Incheon Airport. The tourism office also lists station offices (Customer Safety Offices on Lines 1–4, i-Centers on 5–8); Tmoney's own guide lists stations for top-up only. [2, 9, 11]
  • Bring some won: the airport's 24-hour currency exchanges are in our late-arrival guide.
  • Top up: won cash only, ₩1,000 to ₩90,000 at a time, at convenience stores or station machines. [11]
  • Refund: in cash, minus a ₩500 fee; the card price isn't refunded. [11]

Updates

  • — First published.

Sources

Show all 11 sourcesHide the sources
  1. Seoul Metropolitan Government — Press release: Climate Card and single-journey tickets can be bought with foreign-issued cards from 17 March 2026 (in Korean) · checked · seoul.go.kr ↩︎
  2. Korea Tourism Organization — International visitors' use of public transportation and booking/payment services (infographic PDF, June 2026) · checked · english.visitkorea.or.kr ↩︎
  3. Seoul Metropolitan Government — Climate Card (short-term pass) introduction: coverage, prices, how to buy (in Korean) · checked · news.seoul.go.kr ↩︎
  4. Seoul Metropolitan Government — Climate Card (short-term pass) FAQ (in Korean) · checked · news.seoul.go.kr ↩︎
  5. Tmoney Co., Ltd. — MobileTmoney (App Store listing by Tmoney Co., Ltd.) · checked · apps.apple.com ↩︎
  6. Seoul Metro — Tickets: single-use transportation ticket and deposit refund · checked · seoulmetro.co.kr ↩︎
  7. Seoul Metro — Passenger Transport Terms and Conditions: fares by age, single-journey ticket · checked · seoulmetro.co.kr ↩︎
  8. Seoul Metropolitan Government — Climate Card (30-day pass) end-of-service FAQ: schedule; short-term passes continue (in Korean) · checked · news.seoul.go.kr ↩︎
  9. Tmoney Co., Ltd. — TMONEY TRAVEL CARD: Tmoney exclusively for foreigners · checked · tmoney.co.kr ↩︎
  10. Seoul Metropolitan Government — Seoul public transport fares and discounts (subway, bus) (in Korean) · checked · news.seoul.go.kr ↩︎
  11. Tmoney Co., Ltd. — Tmoney foreigner guide: transfer discount, top-up, refund, where to buy · checked · pay.tmoney.co.kr ↩︎