Domestic iPhone and Apple Watch users will soon be able to use public transportation such as buses and subways using T-money.
On the 16th, T-money announced the launch of the iOS-based T-money service by posting the phrase, “T-money, coming to iPhone and Apple Watch” on its homepage and official SNS. In Korea, Apple Pay’s NFC payment function has not been opened to third-party apps, so transportation card payments have not been possible on iPhones and Apple Watches. This is in contrast to Samsung Electronics’ ‘Samsung Pay’, which supports transportation card payments.
The industry believes that negotiations on technical standards and fee conditions between T-money and Apple have recently been concluded. However, the exact service launch time, range of supported card companies, and fee levels have not yet been disclosed. T-money stated, “Details will be updated later.”
Meanwhile, T-money also announced a pilot operation plan for another innovative payment method, 'Tagless Payment'. Starting in October, the 'Tagless Payment' service will be introduced on 36 routes and about 580 buses in Seoul. The system automatically pays fares without having to hold a transportation card or smartphone up to the terminal. Users can automatically pay fares with just their smartphone in their pocket or bag, and there is no need to tag the terminal when getting off.
This service utilizes mobile sensor technology based on BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) and can be used with a simple setup in the 'Mobile Money' app. It operates in parallel with the existing tag method, and the transfer function is also maintained.
Kim Tae-geuk, CEO of T-Money, said, “Tagless payment will be a new turning point for the public transportation payment system in Korea,” and added, “We will work closely with the Seoul Metropolitan Government and the transportation industry to create an environment where all citizens can move conveniently and safely.”
