Sources: Bank of Korea, Financial Services Commission and provider disclosures, 2024–2025.
How South Korea pays
South Korea pays by card almost everywhere, but its card market is largely domestic. Cards from issuers such as Shinhan, Samsung, KB and Hyundai are often issued for local use only, which means a foreign merchant without local acquiring never sees them. Online, those cards are usually reached through a local payment gateway and confirmed with the issuer's own app.
On top of cards sit the easy-pay apps: KakaoPay, Naver Pay, Toss Pay and Samsung Pay, which store cards and bank accounts behind a single tap. For an enterprise merchant, the value is reach and optimization: international cards routed across acquirers today, the local methods Koreans expect tracked through local partners, all behind one integration and settled in won.
Why merchants run on us here
Local cards, local acquiring
Many cards from Korea's domestic card issuers only work with local acquirers, so local processing decides approval rates.
The easy-pay apps
KakaoPay, Naver Pay and Toss Pay hold saved cards and bank accounts, and shoppers expect to see them at checkout.
International cards, routed
Visa and Mastercard cards issued in Korea, and those carried by visitors, routed across acquirers with retries to protect approvals.
One integration, won settlement
Cards, wallets and local methods behind one integration, in won, with Korean-language checkout and 3DS where it applies.
Payment methods
Cards
Visa
Mastercard
American Express
Discover
Diners Club
JCB
UnionPayBuy Now, Pay Later
Sandbox BNPLDigital wallets
PayPalExpress checkout
Apple Pay
Google PayGateways
Sandbox BNPLPayPal
Airwallex
Stripe
Adyen
Unlimit
Worldpay
Checkout.com
Authorize.net
MPGS
Cybersource
Sandbox GatewayAirwallex (Enterprise)
Braintree
CommerceHub
Fiserve
NMI
Nuvei
OrbitalBuilt for enterprise
Everything it takes to run payments in South Korea
Local payment methods are only half the job. We carry the operational weight — acquiring, settlement, FX, licensing and reconciliation — so you can treat South Korea like any other market in your stack.
One integration, every local method
Connect once and reach every card scheme, wallet, bank rail and installment provider in South Korea through a single API — no separate contract or integration per provider.
Local acquiring, higher approvals
We route to local acquirers and retry failed payments across alternate rails, so domestic cards and wallets authorize at local rates instead of being declined as cross-border traffic.
Settlement, FX & repatriation
Collect in the South Korean won (KRW) and settle in your base currency. We handle the FX conversion and the local rules for moving funds out of the country — the part most global merchants underestimate.
Licensing handled locally
Process through our locally licensed partner entities. You launch without standing up a local entity or chasing a payments license of your own.
Payouts & reconciliation
Pay out to sellers and process refunds on the same rails you collect on, and reconcile every flow — pay-in, payout, refund — in one ledger, in local or base currency.
Fraud, disputes & compliance
Real-time screening, chargeback and dispute handling, and KYC/AML that matches local regulator expectations — built in, not bolted on.
Ready to launch in South Korea?
Talk to our payments team about going live in South Korea — coverage, local acquiring, settlement and timelines for your business.