Mastercard brings Apple Wallet transit payments to Korea

Mastercard has launched support for public transport payments in South Korea through the MobileTmoney app on iPhone and Apple Watch, targeting international travellers visiting the country.

Travellers can use a Mastercard debit or credit card to add funds to a MobileTmoney balance in Apple Wallet, then pay for journeys on subways, buses and taxis with an iPhone or Apple Watch. The change removes the need for many visitors to buy a physical transit card or carry cash for everyday travel.

The rollout is part of a collaboration between MobileTmoney, Apple and Mastercard. It extends mobile transit payments to overseas visitors using Apple devices, a group that has often faced extra steps when trying to access local transport systems abroad.

How it works

Visitors must download the MobileTmoney app from the Apple App Store, register, and top up their balance using a Mastercard stored in Apple Wallet. Once funds have been added, they can tap their device at subway gates or on buses to pay fares instantly.

The service is available on iPhone and Apple Watch, allowing travellers to use the devices they already carry to navigate South Korea's transport network.

South Korea has a dense public transport system, and card-based fare payments are already widely used by residents. For visitors, however, access has often depended on buying local stored-value cards, learning how to top them up, and carrying cash for smaller transactions.

By linking top-ups to Apple Wallet and Mastercard cards, the new option is intended to reduce those barriers. It also reflects a broader push by payments companies and transport operators to make transit systems easier for foreign travellers to use through digital wallets and mobile ticketing tools.

MobileTmoney is one of the country's established transit payment services, and the latest move opens it more directly to short-term international users. Including taxis alongside buses and subways also extends the service beyond station-based travel.

"Travel should feel effortless, especially when you're exploring a new destination," said Sandeep Malhotra, Executive Vice President, Core Payments, Asia Pacific, Mastercard.

"By enabling contactless transit payments through the devices people already use every day, we're giving travelers more choice and a smoother, more confident way to get around overseas," he said.

Tmoney said the effort is intended to give overseas visitors a travel experience closer to that of domestic users. It described the service as an extension of existing transit infrastructure rather than a separate visitor-only system.

"We want every visitor to Korea to move around as easily as locals do," said Youngju Kim, Director of Payment Business Division, Tmoney.

"By working closely with Apple and Mastercard, we're extending our transit infrastructure to support all users, making public transport an easy option for international travelers to discover and enjoy destinations across Korea," Kim said.

Android option

International visitors using Android smartphones can also access contactless mobile payments on public transport through the KOREA TOUR CARD app on Google Play, which can be topped up with Mastercard cards.

Adding both Apple and Android options gives Mastercard broader coverage among inbound travellers who want to avoid cash and physical tickets. It also highlights the growing role of global card networks in local transport systems, where payment acceptance increasingly overlaps with tourism, urban mobility and mobile wallet adoption.

For South Korea, the move may help simplify the arrival experience for foreign visitors who rely heavily on public transport in major cities. For Mastercard, it adds another day-to-day use case for its cards abroad, extending beyond retail purchases into urban transit.