Apple Pay in Korea 2026: Where It Works Without a Hyundai Card — Convenience Stores, Cafes, Marts

Apple Pay at Convenience Stores — GS25, CU, 7-Eleven, emart24

Nearly every convenience store brand in Korea accepts Apple Pay. GS25, CU, 7-Eleven, emart24, Ministop, Storyway and C-Space24 all take it.

The payment method is the same everywhere. Double-press the side button on your iPhone, unlock with Face ID or Touch ID, your card appears, and you hold the top of the iPhone near the reader at the checkout — done. On Apple Watch, double-press the side button and hold it near the reader.

Both the staffed checkout and the self-checkout work. What does not work is a terminal set aside for add-on services like the unmanned parcel lockers. Some CU, GS25 and C-Space24 locations are missing, so first check whether the Apple Pay mark is visible at the checkout.

Apple Pay at Cafes and Bakeries — Starbucks, Mega MGC Coffee, Paris Baguette

27 coffee chains accept Apple Pay: Starbucks, A Twosome Place, Mega MGC Coffee, Paik's Coffee, Ediya Coffee, Compose Coffee, The Venti, Hollys, Gong Cha, The Coffee Bean, Angel-in-us, Paul Bassett, Pascucci, Blue Bottle, Tom N Toms, Terarosa, Tim Hortons, Artisee, Coffee@Works, Amasvin, Coffeebay, Jamba Juice, Dancing Cup, Cafe Comma, Hio Coffee, Cafe Bombom and Cafe Storyway.

Where things diverge is the kiosk. Kiosks that take orders on screen are open at some brands and blocked at others. A Twosome Place, Compose Coffee, Hio Coffee and Cafe Bombom have some locations entirely missing. Gong Cha, The Coffee Bean, Pascucci, Terarosa, Cafe Comma, Amasvin, Coffeebay and Compose Coffee cannot take Apple Pay at the kiosk, so you must go to the counter. At A Twosome Place, Paik's Coffee, Mega MGC Coffee, Ediya, Angel-in-us and Tom N Toms, the kiosk is open at some locations, and The Venti varies by store. Hollys does not yet accept the Amex brand.

Bakeries and dessert shops that accept it are Paris Baguette, Paris Croissant, Tous les Jours, Baskin-Robbins, Dunkin', Krispy Kreme, Dessert39, Trippin, Bijeun, Bokhodu and Chocolat Palette. Some Tous les Jours locations are missing, and Dessert39 does not work at the kiosk. Some Baskin-Robbins locations block the kiosk, while Krispy Kreme, conversely, opens the kiosk only at some locations.

Marts, Daiso, Olive Young — Apple Pay for Groceries and Shopping

The list of marts and supermarkets is long too. Those accepting Apple Pay are Costco Korea, Lotte Mart, Lotte Super, Homeplus marts and Homeplus Express, GS The Fresh, Nonghyup Hanaro Mart, emart Everyday and Chorokmaeul. Large emart stores are not on this list.

Daiso, Olive Young, Innisfree, Musinsa Standard and ABC-Mart also accept Apple Pay. So do IKEA, Lotte Hi-Mart, LG Best Shop, Frisbee, A-Shop, iStore, ARTBOX and Toys R Us.

Among the leased shops inside marts and department stores, some do not accept it. That goes for pharmacies, cafes, restaurants and dry cleaners — shops not run directly by the mart. IKEA works at the merchandise checkout but not at the food court kiosk.

Department Stores, Duty-Free Shops, Lotte Cinema and Train Station Counters

Department stores accepting Apple Pay are Lotte Department Store, Hyundai Department Store, Galleria, AK Plaza, Starfield, IPARK Mall, PARNAS Mall and Alleyway, plus each outlet. Duty-free shops are Lotte Duty Free, Shilla Duty Free, Shinsegae Duty Free, Hyundai Duty Free and JDC Duty Free.

For movies and books, Lotte Cinema, Kyobo Book Centre, Kyobo Hottracks, Youngpoong Bookstore, Aladin Used Bookstore and Jongno Books accept it. Lotte Cinema works at the ticket office, the concession stand and the smart kiosks, but not at the regular ticketing kiosks. Kyobo Book Centre does not work at self-checkout, and Kyobo Hottracks does not work at the kiosk.

At tourist spots, N Seoul Tower, Seoul Land, Aquaplanet, Seorak Waterpia and the AREX airport railway accept it. At train stations operated by KORAIL, you can buy tickets with Apple Pay at the station counter, but not at the automatic ticket machines. Gas stations GS Caltex and E1 accept Apple Pay, but only at the wired terminal in the station office, not at the payment terminal attached to the pump.

Using Apple Pay in Korea with an Overseas-Issued Card

This is the point most visitors to Korea misunderstand. The claim that you need a Hyundai Card for Apple Pay applies only to people getting their card issued in Korea. If the credit or debit card you used back home is already in Apple Wallet, you can simply pull it out and pay at the stores listed above. While gathering its own merchants, Hyundai Card states that "both domestic customers and customers visiting from abroad can pay conveniently and securely."

An iPhone bought overseas works just the same. The payment gesture is identical to back home — two presses of the side button, Face ID or Touch ID, hold near the reader.

Apple does not charge a fee for Apple Pay payments, whether in a store or in an app. Apple advises checking with the bank that issued your card about whether a foreign transaction fee applies.

One thing remains: transit. Creating T-money directly in Apple Wallet requires a card issued in Korea, so tourists use the Mobile T-money app instead. That method is laid out in the iPhone T-money registration article.

Apple Pay Without a Hyundai Card — Only Hyundai Cards Register Among Korean Cards

On Apple's published list of participating issuers in Asia Pacific, the company listed under South Korea is one: Hyundai Card (posted 7 August 2026). KB Kookmin, Shinhan, Samsung, Lotte, Woori and Hana Card cannot yet be added to Apple Wallet. This means that anyone issued a card in Korea needs a Hyundai Card to pay with Apple Pay in stores.

Even among Hyundai Cards, only certain cards can be added. Credit and debit cards in your own name with the Visa, Mastercard, American Express (Amex) or domestic-only brand qualify, and domestic-only cards are added not in Apple Wallet but only in the Hyundai Card app.

If you have no Hyundai Card, you can give up on in-store payments and still have transit and convenience stores. Once you put a prepaid T-money card on your iPhone, you can pay at convenience stores as well as ride the subway and buses with T-money. The next section continues from here.

You Cannot Ride the Subway or Bus with an Apple Pay Credit Card — Add T-money

Holding your iPhone to the ticket gate will not open it with a credit card. In its Apple Pay guidance, Hyundai Card has pinned down that "the transit card function is not currently supported." The only card you can put in Apple Wallet and use on Korean public transit is the prepaid T-money card.

When you add T-money to Apple Wallet, Express Mode turns on automatically. At the ticket gate, you just hold your iPhone to the reader — no need to wake the screen or authenticate with your face. Only one card can be set as the Express Transit Card, so if you create multiple T-money cards, you must select the others by hand.

Creating and topping up T-money directly in Apple Wallet requires a Hyundai Card registered with Apple Pay. Without one, you create it through the Mobile T-money app. That route is written out step by step in the iPhone T-money registration article.

The device requirements are stricter than for payments. Apple Wallet T-money works on iPhone XS, XR and later models running iOS 17.2 or later, or Apple Watch Series 6 and SE 2nd generation and later models running watchOS 10.2 or later. T-money created this way works on the subway, buses, taxis, trains and highways, and is domestic-only — it cannot be used abroad.

Apple Pay Online and In-App — Baemin, Musinsa, Korean Air

The Apple Pay button also appears outside physical stores. Among the online merchants Hyundai Card named are Baemin, Musinsa, KREAM, Korean Air, Asiana Airlines, Jin Air, Lotte ON, GS SHOP, Hyundai Home Shopping, Lotte Home Shopping, TMON, E-Land Mall, Shinsegae Duty Free, Aladin, 10x10, Oasis Market, Domino's Pizza, Burger King, Paul Bassett, Modetour, SRT Play, Costco Korea, Lotte Hi-Mart and Lotte Cinema. The convenience store apps Pocket CU and Woori Dongne GS also accept it.

Online payments carry one condition: single payment only — installments are not supported. It is safe to keep your iPhone updated to iOS 16 or later.

Apple states that with Apple Pay you can shop in Safari and other browsers without going through tedious checkout forms. Only the information you have approved that is needed to complete the order — such as your name, email address, and billing and shipping addresses — is passed to the merchant, and the actual card number is never shared.

Where Apple Pay Does Not Work — Start with the Terminal Mark

At neighborhood restaurants or independent cafes not on the list above, Apple Pay may not work. That is not a problem with the card issuer or your iPhone; it is a problem with the terminal at the store's checkout.

The test is simple. If the terminal shows an Apple Pay mark or the wave-shaped NFC mark, it works. Apple likewise advises: "if you're not sure whether it's supported, ask a staff member at the store or check for the Apple Pay logo or the wave-shaped NFC mark."

Sometimes it fails even when the mark is present. In that case the terminal needs replacing or a software update — and since that is handled by the store's payment processor (VAN), there is nothing you as the customer can do.

Where Apple Pay is open: convenience stores, cafes, marts, department stores and duty-free shops. To cover failures elsewhere, keep a prepaid T-money card on your iPhone — it solves subway and bus rides and convenience store checkouts in one go.