As South Korea's adoption of EMV contactless payment terminals continues to lag, competition among local governments and financial firms to launch prepaid cards for foreign visitors is intensifying. With a full-scale replacement of payment terminals progressing slowly and inbound tourism recovering, prepaid cards are emerging as an alternative way to improve payment convenience for overseas travelers.
However, prepaid cards designed for foreign tourists still face limitations. Issuance channels and spending caps are restricted, and unlike EMV contactless payments, visitors must apply for and top up a new card instead of simply using the credit or debit cards they already use in their home countries.
According to industry sources, several financial institutions and municipalities are expanding prepaid card programs in areas frequently visited by foreign tourists.
Woori Bank has partnered with NOL Universe and Kona I to distribute prepaid tourist cards at Incheon International Airport. Danal recently introduced a system allowing foreign visitors to issue and use prepaid cards through dedicated kiosks in popular tourist districts such as Myeongdong and Hongdae. Seoul's Yeongdeungpo District is also offering a “Medical Travel Prepaid Card” for foreign medical tourists.
“Many merchants in Korea still do not support EMV contactless payments, which creates inconvenience for foreign visitors,” an industry official said. “Prepaid cards have the advantage of being usable without linking a bank account, unlike debit or credit cards.”
Still, prepaid cards issued to foreigners are currently capped at 500,000 won. Although the Financial Services Commission introduced a regulatory sandbox program in January raising the limit to 1 million won, the ceiling remains lower than those offered by services such as Japan's PayPay and China's Alipay and WeChat Pay.
Beyond prepaid cards, more initiatives are being launched to allow tourists to use payment apps from their home countries while traveling in Korea. The Korea Easy Payment Foundation signed agreements with the Busan Tourism Organization and Busan Economic Promotion Agency to enable foreign visitors to pay at Korean merchants using apps already used overseas. Suwon City in Gyeonggi Province is also running discount promotions for payments made through Alipay and WeChat Pay.
Industry observers expect efforts to attract foreign tourists as prepaid card users to continue, as financial authorities face difficulties leading a nationwide terminal replacement campaign, slowing the spread of EMV contactless infrastructure.
Currently, the expansion of EMV-compatible terminals in Korea largely depends on offline payment devices distributed by Toss and Naver. Since merchants must replace existing terminals to support EMV contactless payments, adoption has been slow due to higher costs and limited incentives for store owners.
“If installation of EMV contactless terminals were made mandatory by law, Apple Pay would likely be the biggest beneficiary,” another industry source said. “It would be difficult for regulators to aggressively push a system that primarily advantages foreign companies.”
