Foreign Card Transactions on Seoul Subway Reach 180,000 in September, Up 13% from June

Foreign card transactions at Seoul Station surge 30%... AMEX now accepted

Payments made with foreign credit cards, including those used by foreign tourists, have continued to increase on the Seoul subway. At Seoul Station, which is connected to the Airport Railroad, the number of transactions rose by more than 30% in three months.

A crowded Seoul subway. Photo by Heo Younghan.

Seoul Metro said on October 19 that, according to its analysis of usage data for the foreign credit card and mobile payment services introduced last March, the number of foreign card transactions in September totaled 179,483, up 13.2% from 158,553 in June. The daily average rose from 5,285 to 5,983. The total value of transactions also increased by 14.5%, from about 822,980,000 won to about 942,460,000 won.

In September, foreign card and mobile payment transactions combined totaled 253,566, or about 8,452 per day on average. However, mobile payment transactions fell 23.8% over the same period, from 97,280 to 74,083. Seoul Metro analyzed that mobile payments, which are used mainly by domestic passengers, were affected by lower demand for reloading after the end of the Climate Card 30-day pass program.

By station, Seoul Station and Hongik University Station ranked first and second, respectively, in the combined value of foreign card and mobile payment transactions in both June and September. Both are major transfer stations connected to the Airport Railroad. At Seoul Station in particular, foreign card transactions rose 30.4%, from 21,351 to 27,835, while their value increased 32.0%, from about 108,510,000 won to about 143,190,000 won, far outpacing the overall growth rate. The five stations with the highest foreign card transaction values in September were Seoul Station, Hongik University Station, Myeongdong Station, Dongdaemun Station, and Euljiro 1(il)-ga Station, in that order.

On October 1, Seoul Metro added American Express (AMEX) as a foreign card payment option. This brings the number of foreign card brands accepted at station kiosks to five, up from four: Visa, Mastercard, JCB, and UnionPay.

Ma Haegeun, head of the Business Division at Seoul Metro, said, "As foreign credit card transactions increase, new payment methods are becoming an option for subway passengers. We will continue to improve the payment environment so that both residents and foreign tourists can use the subway conveniently."

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.