Seoul to allow use of foreign credit cards on buses, subway by 2030

Visitors tour Gyeongbok Palace in central Seoul, Oct. 9. Yonhap

Foreign visitors to Seoul will soon be able to ride the city’s buses and subways using credit cards issued overseas, eliminating the need to buy or recharge separate transit cards. The city aims to fully implement this plan by 2030 to better accommodate international visitors.

The Seoul Metropolitan Government said Thursday it will roll out an open-loop payment system based on the Europay, Mastercard and Visa (EMV) standard, allowing more international passengers to pay fares with their credit cards.

Foreign tourists in Korea must now buy transit cards to use public transportation because their credit cards don’t work with Korea’s PayOn system.

“The number of foreign tourists visiting Korea has been rising since the COVID-19 pandemic, reaching 16.36 million in 2024 and expected to top 20 million this year,” the city said. “But many still have to use cash to recharge transit cards, as foreign credit cards aren’t accepted — a major inconvenience for travelers.”

By the end of this year, the city plans to allow the use of foreign credit cards to buy and recharge transit cards at newly designed kiosks, which have already been installed at 25 stations on Seoul Subway Lines 1 to 8.

A total of 440 kiosks will be installed across the Seoul Metro network, excluding some lines in Gyeonggi Province.

In addition, the city plans to enable foreign credit cards to recharge transit cards through Apple Pay on the T-money app this year. For Android users, foreign card top-ups are already available through the Korea Tour Card app.

Seoul aims to upgrade its public transportation network so that the PayOn and open-loop payment systems can operate together by 2030.

By 2026, the city intends to install EMV modules on bus terminals. A year later, all subway terminals on Lines 1 to 8 will be upgraded with EMV devices. Between 2028 and 2030, the system is set to expand to "maeul" (village) buses, private rail lines and the wider metropolitan network.

The EMV transition is expected to cost at least 50 billion won ($35.2 million) in the Seoul metropolitan area.

Koreans traveling abroad can also use their credit cards for public transportation in cities with similar systems.

EMV-based networks already operate in London, Singapore and Sydney, supporting Visa and Mastercard, and are being introduced in Hong Kong, according to the Seoul Metropolitan Government.

“Seoul is now a global tourist city, and its transit system should meet international standards,” said Yeo Jang-kwon, head of the city's transportation office. “The shift to an open-loop system will improve convenience for foreign visitors and reinforce Seoul’s image as a smart city.”