Upass ( ko, 유패스) is a prepaid card for the transportation system in
Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
and its suburbs. This card is issued by Seoul Bus Transport Association and eB Card. Its parent-generation card is Seoul Transportation Card, a world-first commercial-used RF card for transportation (first used in June 199
¹ The Korean system integrator Intec and Seoul Bus Union first launched a test of their system in a trial from October to December 1995.
[Showcases – Seoul: World's largest contactless Smart Card installation in full operation in Kore]
/ref> Old Seoul Transportation Card and T-money can be used along with Upass.
Technology
Upass, and older Seoul transportation card system is based on MIFARE
MIFARE is the NXP Semiconductors-owned trademark of a series of integrated circuit (IC) chips used in contactless smart cards and proximity cards.
The brand name covers proprietary solutions based upon various levels of the ISO/IEC 14443 Type ...
Standard, Ultralight and PROX technology.
Use
Many kiosks around Seoul sells various types of Upass cards. Major banks and credit card companies, including favored Kookmin Bank
Kookmin Bank or KB Kookmin Bank () is among four of the largest banks ranked by asset value in South Korea, as of the end of March 2014. It is the largest among banks in Korea and the 60th largest in the world as of 2017.
History
The current KB ...
and BC Card
BC Card (Hangul: 비씨카드) is a South Korean financial services company headquartered in Seoul. South Korea's largest payment processing company, it provides end-to-end payment services, primarily to financial institutions, as well as to loca ...
, issue Upass compatible credit/debit cards marked with PayOn, MasterCard, Paypass or Visa
Visa most commonly refers to:
*Visa Inc., a US multinational financial and payment cards company
** Visa Debit card issued by the above company
** Visa Electron, a debit card
** Visa Plus, an interbank network
*Travel visa, a document that allows ...
Paywave
Visa Inc. (; stylized as ''VISA'') is an American multinational financial services corporation headquartered in San Francisco, California. It facilitates electronic funds transfers throughout the world, most commonly through Visa-branded cred ...
. Upass is accepted by:
* All Seoul
Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...
, Gyeonggi-do, Incheon, Cheonan, Asan
Asan () is a city in South Chungcheong Province, South Korea. It borders the Seoul Capital Area to the north. Asan has a population of approximately 300,000.
Asan is known for its many hot springs and is a city of spas.
Asan has grown into th ...
buses
* Seoul Subway
The Seoul Metropolitan Subway is a metropolitan railway system consisting of 23 rapid transit, light metro, commuter rail and people mover lines located in northwest South Korea. The system serves most of the Seoul Metropolitan Area includin ...
and AREX
AREX (Airport Railroad Express) is a South Korean commuter rail line that links Incheon International Airport with Seoul Station via Gimpo International Airport. The section between the two airports opened on March 23, 2007, and line was exten ...
* Some Gyeonggi-do intercity buses. These buses are marked with yellow and orange 'Transportation Card Acceptance' stickers. Note that Gyeonggi-do intercity buses often run between other areas.
Notes
External links
Seoul Bus Transport Association
(Korean with some English)
{{Public transport in the Seoul Metropolitan Area
Contactless smart cards
Fare collection systems in South Korea
Transport in Seoul
Financial services companies of South Korea