TL;DR: Buy a T-money card at any convenience store (GS25, CU, 7-Eleven) for 2,500–4,000 KRW, or at subway station machines. Top it up with cash at those same locations — credit cards generally don’t work for reloading at older machines, though newer kiosks at many Seoul Metro stations now accept international Visa, Mastercard, and UnionPay directly. Before you leave Korea, refund your remaining balance at a convenience store or subway station (the card fee and a 500 KRW service fee aren’t refundable, but your loaded balance is).
If you’ve already read our Incheon Airport transport guide or Seoul subway guide, you know T-money comes up constantly. Here’s the card itself, start to finish.
Buying a T-money card
Pick one up at practically any 24-hour convenience store — GS25, CU, 7-Eleven, Emart24, or Ministop all sell them, typically for 2,500–4,000 KRW depending on the design. Subway station vending machines also sell them and usually have a multilingual interface, so you’re not stuck guessing at Korean text.
There’s no registration or ID needed for a basic card — you buy it, you use it, that’s it.
Charging it up
The classic method: hand your card to the convenience store cashier along with cash, and they’ll load whatever amount you ask for. You can also use vending machines at subway stations for cash top-ups.
The one catch: at older machines, you generally can’t reload using a credit or debit card — cash only. That said, as of 2026 a growing number of Seoul Metro stations have newer kiosks that accept international Visa, Mastercard, and UnionPay cards directly for top-ups, so it’s worth checking the machine in front of you before assuming you need cash.
Using the mobile app instead of a physical card
T-money now has an official app — T-money GO — available on both Android and iPhone, letting you create a digital T-money card on your phone instead of carrying a physical one. As of 2026, the mobile app supports foreign visitors on iPhone with top-ups working via foreign Mastercard, American Express, and UnionPay cards. If your phone and card type are compatible, this skips the convenience-store trip entirely.
I set mine up in Apple Wallet before this trip, and using it is exactly like tapping a physical card — hold the phone near the reader, the gate beeps, the barriers open. You don’t even need to unlock the phone or open an app first; Apple Pay Express Transit mode handles it in the background.
If you’d rather not juggle a T-money card and a separate currency exchange stop, WOWPASS combines both in one prepaid card — it works as a T-money card for transit and also handles currency exchange. See the WOWPASS card on Klook →
Getting your balance refunded
Before you head to the airport, cash out whatever’s left on your card. You can do this at major convenience stores, at subway stations, or at T-money’s headquarters in Seoul. Your loaded balance comes back to you — but the original card price and a 500 KRW service fee are not refundable, so don’t expect to get every last won back.
FAQ
Q: Can one T-money card be shared between two people?
A: No — each person needs to tap in individually, so you’ll need one card per traveler if you’re moving through gates separately.
Q: Does T-money work outside Seoul?
A: Yes, it’s accepted on public transit in most major Korean cities, not just Seoul.
Q: What if I lose my T-money card?
A: Basic unregistered cards can’t be recovered if lost — whatever balance was on it is gone. There’s no way to trace or freeze it after the fact.
Q: Can I use T-money for anything besides transit?
A: Yes — many convenience stores and vending machines also accept T-money as a payment method, not just for rides.
Q: Is it worth getting T-money if I’m only staying a couple of days?
A: Generally yes — buying single tickets every ride adds up in hassle even on a short trip, and the refund process at the end takes just a couple of minutes.
Bottom Line
Buy it on day one at any convenience store, keep it topped up with cash (or check for a card-accepting kiosk), and refund whatever’s left before you fly out. It’s the one small purchase that makes the rest of your trip noticeably smoother.