SEOUL – The South Korean government is pushing to develop a system that will enable foreign visitors to use credit cards issued outside the country for transit expenses, allowing them to use buses, subways and potentially the free transfer system between them.
The Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport has commissioned a study for an open-loop public transportation payment system, slated to start in December and wrap up by the end of 2026.
The actual implementation of the new policy, including installation of the necessary infrastructure, is expected for 2027 at the earliest.
If the plan is found to be feasible, foreign visitors would be able to pay for their transportation fees with overseas-issued credit cards without needing to buy separate transit cards or tickets.
Open-loop payment refers to a type of payment network that enables transactions to be processed and authorised by multiple entities, which in essence means the user can use a credit card like Visa or Mastercard that is part of the global open-loop system with any merchant that accepts the network.
The public transit system in South Korea is not currently part of the open-loop system for major credit card companies. The new study will review specific steps and the necessary budget for the policy.
If confirmed, the plan will likely be implemented in multiple phases throughout the country, in cooperation with regional governments.
Another focal point of the new plan is whether the open-loop system would be compatible with the free transfer system implemented in major parts of the country.
The Greater Seoul area, Busan metropolitan area and other regions have adopted a system that allows user to transfer to other transportation methods for free or at discounted rates.
Seoul Metropolitan Government in October announced that it would gradually introduce an open-loop transit payment system for international tourists, which it plans to complete by 2030.
It is widely expected that the Transportation Ministry and Seoul will work on standards for the open-loop system for transit payments. THE KOREA HERALD/ASIA NEWS NETWORK
