T-Money cards popular in Korea and beyond 국내에서도 해외에서도 ‘티머니’ 교통카드!

Instead of going through the hassle of buying a one-way transportation ticket or paying cash for every ride... millions of people in Korea are using a prepaid public transportation card, the "T-Money" card. The technology inside these cards is continuously evolving, as... is its expansion abroad. Our Kwon Soa reports. More convenient, more compatible, more stylish and more widely used. The Korea Smart Card Corporation′s pre-paid transportation card,... known as the ′T-Money′ card, was first introduced for subway and bus payments in the capital Seoul in 2004. This year, the card has been made compatible with nearly all forms of public transportation across the country. "The most convenient part of the T-Money Card is its integration system. Whether you′re traveling by subway, bus, or taxi… this one card can get you where you want to go." And not just in Korea. Other countries are scrambling to adopt the T-Money system. Korea Smart Card CEO Choi Dae-sung told Arirang News that ′T-Money America′ was established in New York last month. The company′s first service abroad, in Wellington, New Zealand has been running since 2008. "When cards are held against the T-Money card reader there, the settlement data is sent to Korea... and those results are transferred back to New Zealand. That′s remote management service through cutting-edge technology." A so-called ′Cashless Bus Ticketing System′ was introduced in Malaysia in 2010. "Southeast Asian countries have many concerns about their chaotic traffic conditions, and that′s why they request consultations with our company and we then participate in detailed mapping out of their systems." Choi added that the service will expand even further by the end of this year, and that the company does not want to limit its services to transportation. In Korea, the card is also used in daily micropayments at more than 50-thousand places of business, such as convenience stores. Kwon Soa, Arirang News.