Best Payments Apps in Korea (2026)
Short answer
Tap-to-pay, transit fares and splitting bills the Korean way. Our top pick is T-money GO — Load and manage your T-money transit card from your phone.
Korea is largely cashless, running on tap-to-pay wallets and QR codes. The catch for foreigners: most Korean wallets like KakaoPay and Toss need a Korean phone number and bank account to set up.
Visitors get around this with prepaid cards such as WOWPASS or NAMANE that load foreign money, while foreign contactless credit cards are also widely accepted.
At a glance
| App | English | Korean number | Korean card | Price |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 T-money GO | Partial | No | Yes | Free |
 KakaoPay | Partial | Yes | Yes | Free |
 WOWPASS | Full | No | No | Free app + card/top-up costs |
 NAMANE Card | Full | No | No | Free app + card/top-up costs |
 Toss | Partial | Yes | Yes | Free |
The apps
T-money GO
티머니GO
Transport & Transit
Load and manage your T-money transit card from your phone
Some EnglishNeeds Korean cardFree
KakaoPay
카카오페이
Payments
Korea's dominant mobile wallet — needs a Korean number to set up
Some EnglishNeeds Korean number + cardFree
WOWPASS
와우패스
Payments
Tourist prepaid card and app for paying like a local
English OKFree app + card/top-up costs
NAMANE Card
나마네카드
Payments
Custom prepaid card with app top-ups and transit balance
English OKFree app + card/top-up costs
Toss
토스
Banking & Money
Korea's money super-app for residents
Some EnglishNeeds Korean number + cardFree
Frequently asked
Can foreigners use KakaoPay or Toss?
Generally no — setup requires a Korean phone number and a Korean-issued card or bank account, so short-term visitors usually can't finish verification.
How do tourists pay like locals in Korea?
Use a prepaid card such as WOWPASS (load foreign cash or card; doubles as a T-money + payment card) or NAMANE. Most stores also accept foreign contactless cards.