Must-have for your convenient Korea trip: WOWPASS card
The following text is authorized reprint of RandomLANDY plays Korea, no other commercial or profit-making purposes.
#Korean WOWPASS Card
#Introduction #Promo Code #Currency Exchange
Believe now many people should know that in Korea there is a very famous card called WOWPASS! But I know many people must be super puzzled, what is this? Is it a card? Is it a machine? Can exchange money, how to exchange? Can be used as a transportation card, what's the difference with T-Money? Can be swiped, can it be swiped everywhere?
Come on, today let's introduce everyone to this multi-functional financial card that combines discounts, money exchange, transportation card, and credit card features :)
Enter Invitation CodeLANDY888
Get 0.5% Super Rewards for Currency Exchange
LANDY Introduction Full Text|Click Here
Is WOWPASS easy to use? Is it worth buying?
First of all, I think WOWPASS is very useful, even for someone like me who has been living in Korea for a long time, will use this card to exchange money.
Because through the WOWPASS machines at major subway stations, I can exchange my foreign currency for Korean won at a preferential exchange rate. At the time of exchange, I can choose whether to withdraw it or not. If I choose to keep it inside, I can use it as a transportation card as usual, or use it at all stores with chip card readers. This really solves a major hassle of exchanging money!
Where are the foreign tourists? After arriving in Korea from Taiwan, you will first face two things: exchanging money and taking a ride. Whether you are taking a ride to exchange money or exchanging money before taking a ride, you must do these two things anyway, so I recommend you to get a WOWPASS card at the WOWPASS machine.
Gimpo Airport already has machines available, but Incheon Airport has not yet set up machines. If you are coming from Gimpo Airport to the city center, first go get a WOWPASS+ card and exchange money. Put some money into the WOWPASS card, and take out some money to use for WOWPASS T-Money top-ups and transactions at the vendors market.
If you are entering Incheon Airport, it is recommended to first purchase a ticket to take the subway to a station with a WOWPASS machine, like the most commonly visited stations such as Hongdae Entrance Station, Myeongdong Station, Gangnam Station, and Seoul Station (click here to check more machine locations).
WOWPASS Gimpo Airport Unboxing
This time I went directly to Gimpo Airport to help everyone test the opening of the box! Its machine location is conveniently located at the entrance of the subway station, with two machines available when coming from the international terminal direction. Please prepare your passport, money, and mobile phone (it's best to download the WOWPASS app in advance).
If you have a friend's invitation code and register in the APP in advance, you can enjoy 0.5% cash back every time you exchange money! No one gave you an invitation code? Then everyone can use mine: LANDY888 , friends who use the invitation code can all enjoy 0.5% cash back, and the inviter can enjoy a rebate of 1,000 yuan.
After everyone logs in with their card, they will also have their own invitation code, so everyone can invite their friends and family to use it! Download and enter the invitation code in the APP, then come to the machine and follow the steps below to issue the card!
Because the machine has all Chinese labels, basically there is no difficulty, only some small areas may be a little confusing, so I will guide everyone to operate once!
The WOWPASS card itself requires more than five thousand (about NT$100) for issuance. Follow LANDY Group (Click here) to participate in activities and have the opportunity to receive a discount code for the issuance fee. Although it's not free at the moment, I think it's a good deal for about NT$100, after all, a simple T-Money transportation card costs around four to five thousand Korean won (there are many special editions that are even more expensive).
And this card has so many functions, five thousand is really reasonable, besides being able to enjoy machine discounts for money exchange, it can also have a transportation card function, really very cost-effective!
At the beginning there are two options, first-time users click on the WOWPASS card (later if you simply want to buy or sell Korean won, click on the second button).
If you do not have a card, click on 'Issue New Card'
Next, choose the currency you want to exchange. If you have other foreign currencies at home that you don't need, you can also use them all together at the machine.
After scanning the passport and selecting New Taiwan Dollar, put the banknotes one by one. At this time, the screen displays information about the T-Money transportation card, which means that you will need to top up the money for the T-Money transportation card at that time, and you can also prepare it together.
Good! I know you must be very confused. Even though I mentioned earlier that WOWPASS includes the T-Money transportation card, can't I just exchange money and use it directly? Why do I need to top up separately!
Because WOWPASS itself, you can think of it as having two pockets. One is a general pocket that saves your Korean won after changing money, and this general pocket is used to swipe your card for consumption and withdraw cash.
Another pocket is the pocket of T-Money transportation card function, which must be added value at the subway station or any convenience store before you can start using the T-Money transportation card officially. So if you don't have Korean won on hand, remember to withdraw some money first to store the transportation card function.
When I don't have Korean won on me, I need to withdraw around ten thousand and use it to top up my T-Money transportation card later.
The part that changes money will be stored in the card, while the cash that falls out will be used later to recharge the T-Money transportation card.
Insert card to trigger card activation
After that, the machine will dispense a new card. Once you receive the card, follow the steps to insert it again. At this point, the amount of money you exchanged will be deposited into it. The process is very fast, ending in less than two seconds.
This is all completed! Friends who need an invoice can print it out (receipts are also in Chinese), but the app can also confirm it!
If the card balance is used up, what should I do? Of course, you can always top up again. When topping up, you can exchange Taiwanese dollars for Korean won and deposit it, or just deposit Korean won directly~ Actually, I recommend everyone to exchange money in batches, don't go all in at once, because the exchange rate is variable, exchanging in batches might get a better exchange rate.
Next is, if the card is lost, it will really be very frustrating (I often check my pockets and then the card falls on the ground without noticing, XD), so exchange in batches, and go to the machine to operate the same.
What if you accidentally lost it? You can lock the card on the APP, so you don't have to worry, just like the credit card's loss function~
How to withdraw money from WOWPASS?
Finally, one more thing to mention, how to withdraw the money from the card? Just select 'Withdraw Cash' on the machine, then everyone will find a step: you must use the WOWPASS APP for authentication, so I really suggest that everyone download the APP and register as a member before operating the machine.
When withdrawing cash, multiple security measures are needed to ensure the user's rights, so you need to authenticate with your mobile app and enter the verification code before you can withdraw. I think this part is done very well, it is very reassuring! Then follow the steps to withdraw cash, very convenient.
Scan card barcode using built-in app function
Immediately bind APP after scanning
After each withdrawal, you need to enter your PIN code each time. Do you feel especially secure?
Above is the introduction to the use of the WOWPASS card, for more detailed top-up and usage procedures, please refer to LANDY's complete blog article sharing (click here).