South Korea to launch foreign traveler prepaid card with Woori Bank, Nol Universe
Woori Bank, in collaboration with Nol Universe and KonaI, has signed a memorandum of understanding to roll out a foreigner-focused prepaid card-based financial service. The partnership, announced on the 13th after the signing on the 5th, aims to enhance payment convenience and financial access for international visitors to Korea. The three parties plan to launch the service in April, pending system integration and partnership infrastructure.
The new offering will be delivered through Nol Universe’s travel platform, NOL World, and will target demand from foreign travelers for Korea-specific experiences. It will include bundled products that combine prepaid card features with popular items such as K‑performance event tickets and tourism packages, as well as a standalone prepaid card product that foreigners can purchase separately.
KonaI will provide the domestic card-payment infrastructure to support the service, enabling both transit card functionality and online/offline merchant payments. The collaborators said that major merchants frequently used by foreign visitors will offer special benefits under the program.
At Incheon International Airport, the country’s main gateway, the prepaid card will be issued at foreign exchange counters so travelers can receive it as soon as they arrive. Woori Bank will offer favorable exchange-rate terms for transactions denominated in the domestic market, and the bank’s unmanned exchange kiosks and ATMs will support currency exchange and card loading to boost user convenience.
Kim Goun, a executive from Woori Bank’s Foreign Exchange Division, said the move reflects growing foreign tourist demand and aims to provide a differentiated “Tourist Finance” service that can be used anywhere, anytime. He added that the partnership will help expand financial services for a global customer base.
The banks and their partners also plan to extend the platform’s capabilities over time, strengthening competitiveness in foreign-focused financial services. The initiative signals Korea’s broader push to streamline payments for international visitors, leveraging fintech collaboration and existing campus-like travel ecosystems to boost inbound tourism spending.
For U.S. readers, the development matters as it could ease travel and spending for American tourists and business travelers visiting Korea, while highlighting Korea’s fintech ecosystem and cross-border payment innovations. If successful, the model may influence how foreign travelers access local payments, currency exchange, and travel-related financial services in other countries as well.