– Trip.PASS and BC Card started distributing their prepaid cards in the in-flight retail on Eastar Jet.
LordSystem (CEO Jang Yang-ho), a mobile passport platform developer, has collaborated with BC Card to release the ‘Trip.PASS Card, which can be used with the tourism and financial platform ‘Trip.PASS’, targets foreign tourists. The card started from in-flight sales on Eastar Jet on the 15th.
Trip.PASS generates a mobile passport as a QR code for the user’s electronic passport, issues a rechargeable prepaid card after verifying the passport’s authenticity through blockchain-based DID passport verification procedures, and provides services such as transportation, payment, and tax refund. It is characterized by identity verification procedures through e-passport (Passport) and facial recognition, allowing short-term foreign residents such as tourists without a foreigner registration number or domestic phone number to use it.
In particular, Trip.PASS Card and QR payment utilize BC Card’s infrastructure, allowing QR payments via the app at all nationwide Payback QR payment merchants. Trip.PASS cards can be used without user fees. There are 3.43 million BC card merchants nationwide, just like domestic users. Furthermore, users can recharge transportation cards directly using the Trip.PASS mobile app and use public transportation such as subways, buses, and taxis.
Users can start using Trip.PASS Card after registering their mobile passport for the app and linking it with the QR code on the back of the card. When recharging overseas, the recharge limit is restricted to KRW 500,000. Still, upon undergoing identity verification with a mobile passport after entering Korea, it is converted to a named prepaid card with a limit of KRW 2 million.
In addition, to provide practical benefits to foreign tourists, the company eliminates card fees for overseas-issued cards when recharging. It gives 1% of the payment amount as points to commemorate the card’s release. For tourists who do not have a card that can be used for overseas payments or who exchange currency to enter Korea, a service for charging Korean won (KRW) through convenience stores is provided.
Furthermore, the recharged amount can be used through the app and card during travel, and users can check their spending history in real time. Users can gift recharge funds to each other without fees and withdraw recharge funds as cash from ATMs. If the user loses their physical card during travel, they can unlink the card from the app. Then, the card is automatically invalidated to protect the remaining balance, and the remaining recharge amount can be used through the mobile app.
Starting on the 15th, sales to foreign tourists using Eastar Jet in-flight sales channels began. Sales at major airports in Japan are scheduled for April. The company plans to expand sales channels gradually across the country.
A Trip.PASS official said, “Foreign tourists using the Trip.PASS platform can start their journey immediately upon arrival in Korea without waiting for currency exchange and recharge,” and “We plan to secure users with practical benefits such as exemption from overseas card recharge fees and point rewards to establish Trip.PASS as a travel card for inbound tourists.”
