T-money card for visitors: price, where to buy, top-up limit and refund fee
Numbers checked against the official source on 2026-10-19
The Tmoney Travel Card for visitors costs ₩4,000 and is sold at convenience stores and at the bus ticket office at Incheon airport. You top it up in units of ₩1,000, from ₩1,000 to ₩90,000 at a time, and the card cannot hold more than ₩500,000. To get your money back you pay a ₩500 service fee, and the card price itself is never refunded. Children (6 to 12) and youths (13 to 18) only get their lower fare after you register the card with a date of birth and an ID.
Which card do you buy?
| Card | Price | Sold at | What the page says it does |
|---|---|---|---|
| Tmoney Travel Card | ₩4,000 | Convenience stores and the bus ticket office at Incheon airport | Nationwide transit: buses, subways, taxis, airport and express buses; payments at convenience stores, cafes and all Tmoney locations; partner offers for sightseeing, shopping and culture |
| Tmoney Travel Card + (WOWPASS) | ₩6,000 | Convenience stores | Same transit benefits, plus WOWPASS IC payment at any card merchant nationwide; the WOWPASS balance is topped up and withdrawn by app or kiosk |
The page also notes that the older Korea Tour Card has been discontinued and is no longer sold; its holders get the same merchant benefits as the Travel Card. For the Climate Card (unlimited Seoul pass) see our Climate Card page; for the fares you pay with the card see Seoul subway and bus fares.
Buy, register, top up: the steps
- Buy the card at a convenience store (the guide lists GS25, CU, 7-Eleven, MINISTOP, Story Way, Emart24 and 365PLUS) or, for the Travel Card, at the Incheon airport bus ticket office. Tmoney Town (Seoul Station Exit 10, Seoul City Tower 1F) is listed under "Others".
- Child or youth: to get the discounted base fare, register the card with the date of birth at a convenience store or a subway-station information center, showing the Tmoney card and an ID. Children are age 6 to 12 and youths age 13 to 18. The guide warns that an adult using a child or youth card faces a fine of 30 times the base fare.
- Top up by giving the card and Korean won cash to staff at a Tmoney sales or top-up location. In subway stations the guide lists the top-up machines (the one-time ticket issuer, the Tmoney vending machine and the portable reload machine) and the information center, marked "Top-up Only".
- Tap in and out on subways and buses. The guide describes a transfer discount between subway and bus, and between two buses that do not run along the same route: see below.
Top-up limits
| Item | Rule on the official guide |
|---|---|
| Unit | ₩1,000 |
| Per top-up | ₩1,000 to ₩90,000 |
| Maximum balance | ₩500,000 |
| Payment | Cash in Korean won at the sales location |
For example, adding ₩90,000 to a card with ₩420,000 left would pass the ₩500,000 cap (derived arithmetic: ₩420,000 + ₩90,000 = ₩510,000), so the most you could add is ₩80,000, since top-ups go in ₩1,000 units.
Refund rules and fees
| Question | Official answer |
|---|---|
| Where | Tmoney card sales or top-up locations: show the card and say how much you want back |
| How you are paid | Cash in Korean won, handed back together with the card |
| Fee | ₩500 service fee |
| Card price | The refund does not include the cost of the card |
| Partial refund | Only at Tmoney Town and the Tmoney service center in a subway station; only ₩10,000 to ₩50,000, in ₩10,000 units; plate Tmoney cards only |
If you hold ₩12,000 when you leave Korea, a full refund would be ₩12,000 − ₩500 = ₩11,500 (derived arithmetic from the fee above), and the ₩4,000 you paid for the card is not returned. The page does not say whether a partial refund also costs ₩500, so ask the staff.
Transfer discount
The guide says holders get up to four discounts a day when they transfer within 30 minutes (up to 1 hour from 9pm to 7am the next day). It prints the discount amount as "a ₩100-plus discount for every ride", which is unclear, so check the actual fare shown at the gate or bus reader.
Help
The page gives a foreign-language call center: dial 120 (Dasan Call Center, Seoul) and press 9. The Tmoney customer center is 1644-0088, weekdays 09:00 to 18:00.
Common questions
Can I use the card on the subway in other cities?
The Travel Card page says nationwide transit. Local operators publish their own fares, for example Busan, Daegu, Daejeon, Gwangju and Incheon.
Neither official page prints a revision date; both were read on 2026-10-19. Not covered here: mobile Tmoney and the Tmoney GO app, Tmoney's prepaid-balance protection disclosure, and the list of sales points shown as an image on the guide page.
Prefer to have a card ready on arrival? See the T-money card on Klook (affiliate link — we may earn a commission; it does not change any number on this page).
Official sources
- Tmoney — Travel Card for foreigners — Travel Card and Travel Card + WOWPASS prices, where sold, benefits, discontinued Korea Tour Card; no revision date printed (read on 2026-10-19) (checked 2026-10-19)
- Tmoney — Foreigner user guide — transfer discount, child/youth registration, top-up unit and limits, balance cap, refund steps and fee, call center numbers; no revision date printed (read on 2026-10-19) (checked 2026-10-19)
Prices change. If an official page shows a different number from this page, the official page wins — and please tell us so we can fix it.