Korean cards
Credit cards have been a common payment method in South Korea since the 1960s, and remain the preferred payment method today, accounting for more than 50% of the online e-commerce payment volume. In a country where 95% of the population holds bank accounts and a credit card penetration rate surpasses 60%, accepting South Korean card payments enables you to reach nearly the entire population of over 50 million.
Supported card brands
In contrast to international cards, the majority of South Korea's local cards are issued by nine primary companies. Prominent brands include Shinhan, BC, Samsung, KB, Hyundai, Lotte, NH, Hana, and Woori. Of the over 110 million cards issued locally, single-badged cards account for around 45%, while co-badged cards, which also display international card scheme logos, make up approximately 55%. Antom's solution supports both single-badged and co-badged local cards.
The following are all supported South Korean local card brands:
- Shinhan Card, Hyundai Card, Samsung Card, Lotte Card, Hana Card, KB Kookmin Card, BC Card, NH Nonghyup Card, Woori Card, IBK B.C., Gwangju Bank, KDB Industrial Bank, Saemaeul Geumgo, Shinhyeop, Citi Card, Post office deposit insurance, Korea Federation of Savings Banks, Jeonbuk Bank, Jeju Bank, Kakao Bank, K Bank, Toss Bank, SH Suhyup Bank.
Properties
The following table lists the product properties supported by Korean cards:
Availability | Product type | Non-authentication payment | Issuer-authentication payment |
Acquirer | AlipaySG, AlipayUS, AlipayUK, AlipayEU | AlipaySG, AlipayUS, AlipayUK, AlipayEU | |
Acquiring region | SG, HK, AU, US, UK, EU | SG, HK, AU, US, UK, EU | |
Buyer country/region | South Korea | South Korea | |
Merchant business type | Non-high risk business types (such as general e-commerce) | All business types (high-risk industries such as game/top-up merchants are required to integrate this product) | |
Product features | Payment type | CARD | CARD |
Card brand | Support all South Korean local card brands, see the Card brands for details | ||
Card type | All local card types | All local card types | |
Payment flow | Direct | Redirect | |
Payment completion | Real-time | Real-time | |
Currency | Processing currency | KRW | KRW |
Settlement currency | USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, NZD, SGD, AUD, HKD, CNH, CAD | USD, EUR, GBP, JPY, NZD, SGD, AUD, HKD, CNH, CAD | |
| Other | Settlement cycle | T+4/W+4/M+4 | T+4/W+4/M+4 |
3D | ❌ | ❌ | |
Authorization validity period | 7 days | 7 days | |
Minimum transaction amount | Refer to the Transaction Limit table for the default limit setting. | ||
Maximum transaction amount | |||
Checkout Payment | ✔️ | ✔️ | |
Auto Debit | ❌ | ❌ | |
Multiple partial captures | ❌ | ❌ | |
Partial capture | ❌ | ❌ | |
Overdraft capture | ❌ | ❌ | |
Refunds | ✔️ | ✔️ | |
Partial refunds | ✔️ | ✔️ | |
Chargeback/Dispute | ✔️ | ✔️ | |
Refund period | 365 days | 365 days | |
Recurring | ❌ | ❌ | |
Installment | ❌ | ❌ | |
[1] For the two payment flows for Korean cards, refer to User experience for more details.
Transaction Limit
Card brands | Single transaction limit | No. of daily transactions | Daily limit | Monthly limit | ||||
Top-up | Gaming | Top-up | Gaming | Top-up | Gaming | Top-up | Gaming | |
Kookmin | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 200,000 | 1,000,000 | N/A |
BC | N/A | 50,000 | N/A | 4 | N/A | 200,000 | N/A | 10,000,000 |
NH | 100,000 | 100,000 | 10 | 10 | 500,000 | 500,000 | N/A | N/A |
Lotte | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 500,000 | 500,000 | N/A | N/A |
Hana | N/A | 100,000 | N/A | 6 | N/A | 300,000 | N/A | N/A |
Samsung | N/A | 500,000 | N/A | N/A | 50,000 | 500,000 | N/A | N/A |
Shinhan | N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 50,000 | 50,000 | N/A | N/A |
Hyundai | N/A | 110,000 | N/A | 5 | N/A | 550,000 | N/A | N/A |
Woori | 50,000 | 50,000 | 4 | 4 | 200,000 | 200,000 | N/A | N/A |
[1] Note that card issuers might change this limit according to different internal policies.
User experience
Antom offers two types of payment flows for Korean cards:
- Issuer-authentication payment: Users are redirected to the bank page of the chosen issuer to complete the payment. Payment is completed via different processes, such as scanning a QR code, or inputting card or bank account information, depending on the particular bank's capabilities. You are required to provide these payment flows for categories such as gaming and top-up/charging services.
- Non-authentication payment (Key-in): Users need to manually key in their card details as per a standard card payment process.
The following figures show the journey of paying with South Korean cards in different scenarios.
API-only integration
This section shows the difference of user experience between issuer-authentication and non-authentication payment under the API integration.
Issuer-authentication payment
Bank list provided by merchant
- Users select a bank.
- The bank page is to be opened and presents available authentication methods.[1]
- Users choose an authentication method to proceed.
- The QR code and payment code are to be displayed on the page for users to scan or input within a mobile app.
- Users select a card within the app, complete user authentication, and confirm payment.
- Users are redirected to the merchant site and are notified of the payment result.
[1] Different banks may offer different authentication methods, including card number with password, the pre-installed mobile bank app, CVC, SMS OTP, ARS authentication, etc, based on the options that banks provide to users. ARS authentication is an authentication method that involves providing users with a PIN code over a phone call.
Non-authentication payment
For non-authentication payment under the API integration, the user experience of paying with Korean cards between the first-time and subsequent payments is different.
First-time payment
The following figures show the user experience of first-time payment for corporate and individual cards under PCI and non-PCI qualified conditions.
- PCI qualified (Corporate card)
- PCI qualified (Individual card)
- Non-PCI qualified (Corporate card)
- Non-PCI qualified (Individual card)
Subsequent payments
The following figures show the user experience of subsequent payments under PCI and non-PCI qualified conditions.
- PCI qualified
- Non-PCI qualified
SDK integration
This section shows the difference of user experience between issuer-authentication and non-authentication payment under the SDK integration.
Non-authentication payment
For non-authentication payment under the SDK integration, the user experience of paying with Korean cards between the first-time and subsequent payments is different.
First-time payment
The following figures show the user experience of first-time payment for corporate and individual cards.
- Corporate card
- Individual card
Subsequent payments
