T-money Card: How to Buy, Top Up and Get Your Refund

The default Korean transit card — works on subways, buses, taxis and at convenience stores. Buying one is easy; the top-up and refund rules are where visitors get caught out.

Last checked: 2026-09-15·Desk-researched — not yet verified on site

1. 1Buying

   Any convenience store (CU, GS25, 7-Eleven) or the arrivals level at Incheon Airport. The card itself costs ₩2,500–4,000 (non-refundable). Station vending machines sell them too.

2. 2Topping up

   Cash is the default (convenience stores and station machines, ₩1,000 units, ₩500,000 max balance). Since 17 March 2026, 440 new ticket machines at 273 stations on Lines 1–8 accept overseas cards, but only for single-journey tickets and for buying or topping up a short-term Climate Card (1-, 2-, 3-, 5- and 7-day passes) — recharging a regular T-money card with a foreign card is not covered, and card payment adds an average 3.7% fee. To load a physical T-money card without cash, the Mobile T-money app is the only route: overseas Mastercard, Amex and UnionPay (≈4.5% fee, no Visa).

3. 3Where it works

   Subway and bus (with free-transfer discounts), convenience-store purchases, most taxis — nationwide.

4. 4Refunds

   The ceiling depends on where you go. Convenience stores: under ₩20,000 at GS25, ₩20,000 or less at 7-Eleven, ₩30,000 or less at CU and emart24, with a ₩500 fee. Above that you need a subway station information desk (up to ₩50,000) or T-money Town (up to ₩500,000 per person per day). The balance's statutory expiry is five years from the last top-up or last use, but T-money's terms say you can still spend or refund it after that as long as you hold the physical card — so if you'll be back, just keep it.