I've been using the Toss Prepaid Card in Korea, and it's way more useful than I expected.
I signed up for Toss as a foreigner, with my Canadian passport.
No Korean phone number or bank account needed.
The 20% cashback is nice.
But that's not the real reason to get it.
It lets you make Korean bank transfers without a Korean bank account.
Status (Oct 13): using it myself. Everything below is from my own Toss app and Toss's official page.
At a glance
| What | Details |
|---|---|
| Issued by | Viva Republica (Toss). Not Toss Bank |
| Sign up | As a foreigner, with your passport. No Korean number or account needed |
| Card fee | First card free |
| Pick up | CU stores at Incheon Airport T1 or T2, Hongdae or Myeongdong, or free delivery to where you're staying |
| Top up | Bank transfer, cash at convenience stores, Mastercard or JCB, UnionPay, foreign payment apps |
| Limit | ₩500,000, or ₩1,000,000 after passport verification in the app |
| Send money | To any Korean bank account |
| Online | Through Toss Pay (Olive Young, Coupang, Musinsa and more) |
| Cashback | 20% on in-store payments, up to ₩10,000 in total per person |
| Transit | T-money built in |
Why it's so useful
In Korea, a surprising number of things take a bank transfer only.
- Korean websites that only accept Korean cards or a domestic bank transfer
- Bookings where you send money first to hold your spot (like a tennis court slot)
- Street food stalls that don't take cards when you have no cash (a lot of them take a bank transfer)
With the Toss Prepaid Card, you send money straight from your balance (Toss Money) to any Korean bank account.
Type in the account number.
Done.
Your Canadian card can't do that.
That alone makes it worth getting.
Topping up: avoid the card
There are five ways to top up.
| Method | Fee |
|---|---|
| Mastercard or JCB | ₩644 on a ₩10,000 top-up (6.44%) |
| Cash at a convenience store | CU ₩700, GS25 and Emart24 ₩100 |
| Bank transfer to your own Toss account | No fee shown in the app |
| UnionPay, foreign payment apps (Alipay HK, GCash, LINE Pay and more) | Haven't checked |
Visa?
Not on the list at all.
6.44%?
Ouch.
And since it's charged in won, your Canadian card's foreign transaction fee can land on top.
The two cheapest ways:
- Ask a friend or family member with a Korean bank account to send money to your Toss account. Your Toss account number is right there on the top-up screen.
- Take out won at an ATM, then top up with cash at a convenience store. For the ATM, I'd use the Wealthsimple prepaid card: no foreign transaction fee, and it reimburses ATM fees anywhere in the world. Then top up at GS25 or Emart24 for ₩100.
CU charges ₩700, so skip it when you can.
The limit goes up to ₩1,000,000
The default limit is ₩500,000.
On the top-up screen, tap to increase your limit, verify with your passport, and it goes up to ₩1,000,000.
Toss never announced this publicly.
But it's live in the app.
Korea's Financial Services Commission approved it in January, on the condition that the app reads your e-passport chip by NFC and does a live face check.
The 20% cashback: ₩10,000 in total
The app spells out the cashback rules:
- 20% back as Toss Points on every in-store payment
- Up to ₩10,000 in total per person (the rate drops below 20% as you get close)
- Only foreigners aged 14+ who signed up with a passport during the event
- From July 16, 2026, until the budget runs out
I maxed it out in Busan in seven payments: coffee, fast food, a Chinese restaurant and a photo studio 😂
You can move the points to Toss Money and spend them with the card, or use them with Toss Pay.
So think of it as a ₩10,000 welcome bonus.
Olive Young: up to ₩20,000 off until October 31
My app also showed an Olive Young offer:
- A 5% off coupon on orders over ₩100,000, up to ₩10,000
- 50% cashback when you pay with the Toss Prepaid Card or Toss Pay QR, up to ₩10,000
Spend ₩200,000 or more and you max out both: ₩20,000.
Show the coupon barcode to the staff, then pay with the prepaid card or Toss Pay QR.
It runs August 18 to October 31, 2026, and can end early if the budget runs out.
It's only for members Toss has marked as eligible, so check that it shows up in your app.
Toss vs WOWPASS
| Toss Prepaid Card | WOWPASS | |
|---|---|---|
| Top up | Bank transfer, convenience store cash (₩100 to ₩700), Mastercard or JCB (6.44%), foreign payment apps | Cash in 16 currencies at machines, foreign cards, the app |
| Limit for visitors | ₩500,000, or ₩1,000,000 with passport verification | ₩1,000,000 |
| Send to Korean bank accounts | Yes | Not mentioned on its official pages |
| Online payments | Toss Pay (Olive Young, Coupang, Musinsa and more) | Only inside the WOWPASS app (e.g. its food delivery) |
| Cash out | Haven't confirmed | At machines, up to ₩100,000 at a time, ₩1,000 fee |
| Transit | T-money built in | T-money built in, separate balance |
| Perks | ₩10,000 cashback in total, the Olive Young offer | None |
Bank transfers and online payments are the big difference.
WOWPASS still wins on getting your leftover money back when you leave.
Still unknown
- How to get your leftover balance back when you leave
- Whether the T-money balance is the same as your Toss Money balance
Final Thoughts
For anyone in Korea without a Korean bank account, I'd call it a must-have.
Never getting stuck at a "bank transfer only" moment is the big win.
The ₩10,000 cashback is a bonus.
Just watch how you top up.
Card top-ups cost 6.44%, so a friend's transfer, or ATM cash topped up at GS25 or Emart24, is the way to go.
WOWPASS and the other visitor perks are in my Korea perks roundup.
Have you topped up with UnionPay or a foreign payment app?
Let me know the fee in the comments!
Sources: Toss Prepaid Card, Wealthsimple ATM fee reimbursement policy, Financial Services Commission designation (January 2026), WOWPASS
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