Can You Pay With a Foreign Card at Our Gangnam Clinic?

Yes. We accept international Visa, Mastercard, JCB, and American Express cards for consultations and procedures, the same brands most cards issued outside Korea already carry. There is no special barrier to using a card issued abroad here. The details that actually matter are your card's overseas spending limit, which currency you are billed in, and how Korea's payment landscape for international patients has shifted recently.

What We Ask Patients to Check Before They Book

Procedure fees are usually charged in full on the day of consultation or the day of treatment, not in installments spread across a stay. Because a card issued outside Korea is capped by whatever overseas spending limit your bank has set, we suggest confirming that limit before you travel rather than at the payment terminal. If a planned procedure is a significant expense, contact your card issuer in advance and ask them to raise the overseas limit for your travel dates.

It is also worth telling your card issuer when and where you will be traveling. Card issuers sometimes flag a large charge from a Seoul clinic as suspicious activity precisely because it is unusual for the account, and a routine travel notice can prevent a declined transaction at the worst possible moment.

Currency Selection Matters More Than People Expect

Card terminals in Korea frequently prompt you to choose whether a charge is billed in Korean won or in your home currency. Choosing your home currency triggers what is known as dynamic currency conversion, where the conversion is set by the terminal's own network rather than your card issuer. In practice this usually costs more than letting your own bank handle the conversion. Selecting Korean won at checkout avoids paying a currency conversion fee twice, once at the terminal and again on your card statement.

Why Card Payments Have Become the Main Channel for International Patients

The Korea Health Industry Development Institute, in a 2024 report analyzing credit card data from foreign patients, found that international patients used foreign-issued cards to spend roughly 3.66 trillion won in Korea over the year, spanning medical treatment, lodging, and general consumption. Of that total, medical treatment accounted for 1.4 trillion won, or 38.3 percent, making card payment the primary channel through which international patients now cover their treatment costs in Korea. That scale is one reason clinics serving international patients have had to build payment processes around card transactions rather than treating them as an exception.

Our Payment Setup at the Gangnam Location

Our Gangnam clinic operates inside the UH FLAT SIGNATURE Gangnam building, and English-speaking staff are on site to walk patients through consultation, payment, and receipt confirmation without needing an outside interpreter. If a question comes up about how a charge will appear on your statement or whether a procedure can be split across two payment dates, that is something to raise directly with our payment staff when you book your consultation, since the answer can depend on the procedure and the timing.

One change worth factoring into your budget: Korea's VAT refund program for foreign patients receiving cosmetic procedures ended at the close of 2025. Until then, some patients could reclaim a portion of the value-added tax after their visit. With that refund no longer available, the amount charged at the time of payment is now the final cost, so it is worth building your treatment budget around the full charged price rather than assuming a later refund.

FAQ

What if my card's overseas spending limit is too low for the procedure I want?

Contact your card issuer before your trip and ask them to raise the limit for your travel dates. If the total is still large relative to your limit, ask our payment staff at the time of booking whether splitting the charge between a card and a bank transfer is possible for your treatment.

Can I pay across two or more cards for a single procedure?

Whether a charge can be split across multiple cards depends on the amount and the timing of payment. Raise this with our payment staff when you book your consultation so it can be confirmed before your appointment.

Does the clinic accept cash or bank transfer instead of a card?

As with most clinics in Korea, cash and bank transfer are usually available alongside card payment. English-speaking staff at our Gangnam location can confirm the exact payment method and process when you schedule your consultation.

Will the price I am quoted change once the VAT refund is gone?

The amount you are quoted and charged is the final cost. Since the refund program for foreign cosmetic-procedure patients ended at the close of 2025, there is no later reimbursement to factor in, so we recommend budgeting around the charged price itself.