Busan Metro ticket machines now take Visa, Mastercard, JCB and Apple Pay

Since Wednesday, October 21, 2026, ticket machines in Busan Metro stations sell single-journey tickets by credit card and mobile pay, according to Korean media reports. Overseas-issued Visa, Mastercard and JCB cards are accepted, along with Apple Pay, WeChat Pay and Alipay. For visitors, that means a foreign card or phone wallet can now buy a one-way ticket at the station machine on all but two parts of the network.

The essentials

• What: card and mobile-pay purchase of single-journey tickets at station ticket machines (승차권 자동발매기)
• When: from October 21, 2026
• Where: Busan Metro stations, except Line 1 between Dongmae (동매) and Dadaepo Beach (다대포해수욕장) and all of Line 4
• Who runs it: Busan Transportation Corporation (부산교통공사)
• Status: the excluded sections are due to join in December; the reports we read give no exact date, and no fees or fares were mentioned.
• Official site: humetro.busan.kr (Korean)

What changed

The change sits in the station machine itself. Newsis reported on October 21 that Busan Transportation Corporation had earlier introduced QR tickets and card payment inside its mobile app. Card payment for a single-journey ticket can now be done on the spot, at the machine, without first setting anything up on a phone.

The operator framed the move around two groups: people who ride the subway only now and then, and foreign tourists. Metro Seoul, reporting on October 22, said the corporation expects the purchase burden for those riders to ease.

Which cards and apps work

Both reports list the same payment methods:

• Overseas-issued credit cards: Visa, Mastercard and JCB are named. Both outlets phrase the list as examples, so other brands may work, but none is confirmed.
• Korean credit cards: cards from 9 domestic card companies.
• Mobile wallets: KakaoPay, Naver Pay, Samsung Pay and Apple Pay.
• Chinese wallets: WeChat Pay and Alipay.

The reports describe credit cards. They do not say whether foreign debit or prepaid cards go through, so keep some cash or a backup card if that is all you carry.

Where it does not work yet

Two sections are left out for now. One is the southern end of Line 1, from Dongmae Station to Dadaepo Beach Station, the stretch that serves Dadaepo Beach. The other is the whole of Line 4. Both are scheduled to start in December, per Newsis and Metro Seoul.

If your trip starts at one of those stations before then, plan to pay another way, for example with the QR ticket or in-app card payment the operator already offers.

How it fits with other ways to pay

The reports cover buying a ticket at the machine. They say nothing about tapping a foreign card at the gate, so do not count on that in Busan. Seoul took a similar step earlier this year; our Seoul subway foreign card guide explains how it works there and where the catches are.

Our guide to apps that work in Korea covers the phone side. Before riding this week, also check our strike watch for AREX and the Busan subway.

Our verdict

This helps most on a short Busan stay with a few subway rides, when changing money for small fares feels like a chore. It helps least if you are staying near Line 4 or heading to Dadaepo Beach, where machine card payment has not arrived yet. For the start date of the remaining sections, check the operator’s site, humetro.busan.kr (Korean).

Quick links

• Source report (Korean): Newsis, October 21
• Source report (Korean): Metro Seoul, October 22
• Busan Transportation Corporation (Korean): humetro.busan.kr
• Related: Seoul subway and foreign cards
• Related: Apps that work in Korea
• Related: Avoiding overcharging in Busan
• Korea Tourism Hotline (free 24/7 multilingual): 1330