Kakao T won't take your foreign card? Here's the workaround
Getting a taxi in Korea with a foreign card is mostly a solved problem, once you know these two options.
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Kakao T: if your card won't save, pay the driver
Kakao T calls taxis all over Korea. Even though it lists foreign card brands, travelers often report that adding a foreign card fails. If that happens, call the taxi in the app and pay the driver in the car: cash, card or T-money all work.
- Call your taxi in Kakao T as normal.
- When you arrive, pay the driver in the car.
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Cards and sign-up on Kakao T
Kakao Mobility says you can add Visa, Mastercard, Amex and JCB cards in Kakao T. UnionPay isn't on that list. You need a Kakao account, which asks for an SMS code when you sign up, and foreign SIMs sometimes don't receive it.
Card brands
- Visa Works
- Mastercard Works
- Amex Works
- JCB Works
- UnionPay Not on the official list
- Alipay users can call a Kakao T taxi from inside the Alipay app (since Oct 2023).
- Whether Kakao T accepts passport verification is still being verified.
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Get k.ride for taxis
k.ride is a taxi app from Kakao Mobility for visitors. You sign up with Google, Apple or email, no Korean number needed. It lets you search for places and chat in 100 languages, and you can book a taxi ahead of time, including airport pickups at Incheon (T1 and T2), Gimpo and Jeju. It doesn't offer regular taxis. The cheapest class is Standard (Kakao T Blue).
- Install k.ride and sign up before you fly.
- Add your payment method at home, not at the taxi stand.
- Classes: Standard (Kakao T Blue), Deluxe (deluxe 'mobeom' taxi), Comfort (Venti, larger car) and Luxury (Black).
- Standard and Deluxe: meter fare plus a 10% service fee. Deluxe can add a surge charge of 0–5,000 won; for Standard it depends on the taxi company. The fee can change with demand, traffic and area.
- Cancelling more than 1 minute after a car is assigned, or not boarding after it arrives: 2,000 won (Deluxe), 4,000 won (Venti), 5,000 won (Black), plus 10%. For Blue it depends on the taxi company.
- At launch in 2024, Kakao Mobility said it left out regular taxis to keep the service stable and might add more car types later (news report).
- A third-party guide reports that Venti and Black don't show up yet in some areas. For comparison, it lists Seoul's regular taxi base fare as 4,800 won (1.6 km) and deluxe taxis as 7,000 won (3 km).
Official links
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Paying in k.ride
k.ride says you can add credit and debit cards issued outside Korea, but it doesn't list which brands. It also takes Alipay+ wallets (such as Alipay, AlipayHK and Touch 'n Go), WeChat Pay, GrabPay and PayPal. PayPal was added in version 1.9.0 (25 Jun 2026).
Card brands
- Visa Being verified
- Mastercard Being verified
- Amex Being verified
- JCB Being verified
- UnionPay Being verified
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Taxis on Jeju
Kakao T works on Jeju, and k.ride takes airport pickup bookings at Jeju Airport. Jeju also has a Global Taxi service, booked at jeju.go.kr/globaltaxi or by phone on 1899-4314.
- Global Taxi fares and payment options are still being verified.
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Taxis in Busan
Busan taxis take cash, credit cards and transit cards. Busan's site doesn't say whether foreign cards work, but VisitKorea says taxi card readers across Korea take foreign credit cards. Busan suggests the Kakao T, Uber and Dongbaek Taxi apps.
- Tip: Carry some cash or a loaded transit card as a backup.
- Regular taxi: 4,800 won for the first 2 km, then 100 won per 132 m or per 33 seconds (since 1 Jun 2023).
- Deluxe and large taxis: 7,500 won for the first 3 km, then 200 won per 140 m or per 33 seconds.
- Late-night surcharge (23:00–04:00): 30% from midnight to 2:00, 20% at other times.
- VisitKorea says Kakao T works anywhere in Korea.
- k.ride airport pickups can be booked at Incheon, Gimpo and Jeju, not Gimhae (Busan).
- k.ride's official page only says it works in Korea; a Busan event guide recommends it in Busan.
- Whether the Dongbaek Taxi app takes foreign cards is being verified.