We learned last month that iOS 16.4 was slated to allow Apple Pay support in South Korea. It was possible that Apple was holding out for that launch given the impending public release. But, it appears that support for Apple’s contactless payment is already live in the nation, arriving earlier than expected.
Aaron discovered this and tweeted it. According to Apple’s Korean website:
Visa, MasterCard, and domestic-only credit and debit cards provided by the following card issuers in South Korea can currently be added to Apple Pay. Only the app of the card issuer can be used to add domestic-only cards.
There was earlier speculation that Apple Pay would begin with an exclusive agreement with Hyundai Card for a year, but that seems to have fallen through. Although the first launch partner in South Korea is Hyundai Card, it appears that Apple is free to add additional partners at any moment.
Aaron also provided a piece of code that verified Apple Pay setup was possible. The debut follows Apple’s anticipated November 2016 rollout of Apple Pay functionality.
