“I really don't think I'll carry a wallet anymore.” (a person surnamed Yeon in his 30s)
“What I envied about Galaxy S users was that you could take public transportation with just a smartphone.” (a person surnamed Jo in his 20s)
Apple's announcement of the integration of the traffic card service T-money with Apple Pay has elicited positive reactions among iPhone users. Until now, Samsung Galaxy S users were able to use T-money for public transportation without a separate card by charging it through Samsung Pay. However, iPhone users could not enjoy this feature.
Apple officially announced on the 22nd that Apple Pay is now linked with T-money. Users can add T-money to their Apple Wallet in the future to use it as a transportation card. According to Apple, T-money can be registered in Apple Wallet on software version iOS 17.2 or higher.
Apple has evolved its Apple Wallet to integrate management not only for payments but also for keys, identification cards, student IDs, membership cards, and more, with transportation cards being one of the key features.
Earlier, T-money officially announced the introduction of Apple Pay through its website and social media on the 16th. The iPhone landed in Korea in 2009, and Apple Pay was launched domestically in March 2023, but the T-money feature was not supported. Apple and T-money have reportedly been coordinating on standards for near-field communication (NFC), fees, security technology, and more for several months.
According to Apple, to use the T-money feature, iPhone users must first open the ‘Wallet app’ and bring up the ‘+’ button. When the transportation card option appears, they should add T-money. Balances can be recharged through the Apple Wallet and T-money apps. By setting the 'Express mode,' users can use public transportation just by holding the device up to the reader without unlocking the iPhone.
Currently, the domestic T-money service is expected to only support prepayment methods at first. However, Apple explained that using the automatic recharge feature can help users avoid situations where their balance is low.
At present, Hyundai Card is the only card company in Korea partnered with Apple Pay, but users can select other payment methods in the T-money app to recharge their balance with other card companies, bank transfers, or T-money mileage. No fees will be charged to users.
If the mobile phone battery is low, the power-saving mode automatically activates, maintaining the transportation card function for up to 5 hours. This feature is supported on iPhone XR models and higher.
However, it has been reported that there are no internal confirmations regarding government policy-type card support plans such as the Climate Companionship Card in the country.