You Can Now Buy Seoul Subway Passes With a Foreign Card (But Not Top Up T-money)
Published October 20, 2026
Since March 17, 2026, 440 newer machines in 273 Seoul subway stations take foreign Visa and Mastercard cards for the Climate Card pass and single tickets. Regular T-money top-ups are still cash.
What you need to know
- The newer ticket machines on Lines 1–8 accept foreign Visa and Mastercard cards for Climate Card short-term passes and single-journey tickets.
- About 9,000 people a day were paying this way a month after launch.
- A regular physical T-money card is still topped up with cash.
- On iPhone, the Tmoney app's "Foreigner" option lets you top up with a foreign Mastercard, Amex, or UnionPay card (not Visa) and add the card to Apple Wallet.
Full details in our guide. T-money: cash or card? is up to date with this change.