WOWPASS Korea 2026: Is It Currency Exchange? Fees and How It Works

Bottom line: The WOWPASS machines you see at the airport or on Myeongdong's streets are not currency exchange booths. They are kiosks that issue a prepaid travel card for foreigners, and you pay a membership fee to get one. If you only wanted to swap cash into won, know this before you join the line.

If you didn't know: Getting the card costs a non-refundable 6,000 won first-time membership fee. Pulling your loaded balance back out as cash costs another 1,000 won per withdrawal, and each withdrawal is capped at 100,000 won — so cashing out a larger amount in installments stacks up 1,000-won fees you would never pay at a bank exchange counter.

WOWPASS is a prepaid card service for foreign visitors run by Orange Square. The process: scan your passport at a kiosk to issue the card, load cash or a foreign card balance onto it, then pay merchants with the WOWPASS balance (or move funds to the T-money balance for transit), or later pull cash back out at a kiosk by following the on-screen steps. The official FAQ says currency loading and payments themselves carry no fee, but the membership fee and cash-withdrawal fee are charged separately. The reissue fee is even listed inconsistently within the same official FAQ — 3,000 won in one place, 4,000 won in another — so that figure is worth double-checking on-site. The page says the kiosk accepts cash top-ups in 16 foreign currencies, but it gives no official comparison figure showing whether the exchange rate actually beats a bank or a private money-changer — only a reference rate is shown on screen.

This article summarizes official information and is not legal, medical, or financial advice.

Journey stage: During the trip · Verified 2026-11-05