Korean Payment Gateway Integration Guide

To accept payments from Korean customers, you either contract a Korean payment gateway (PG) such as Toss Payments, KG Inicis, NHN KCP or NicePay, or use a global processor that routes Korean cards and wallets through a local partner. Domestic PGs onboard merchants with a Korean business registration number, so a foreign company without a Korean entity usually starts with Stripe's Korean payment methods, a cross-border PG such as Eximbay, or a Korean partner who holds the merchant contract.

This guide covers how the main options differ, where KakaoPay, Naver Pay and Toss Pay fit, what Shopify can and cannot do in Korea, and what the integration work looks like from the developer's side. Every claim about a provider links to its own documentation in the sources at the end. We checked them in October 2026, and terms change, so confirm the current conditions with the provider before you sign.

What is a Korean payment gateway, and why isn't a global processor always enough?

A Korean PG is a licensed company that sits between your checkout and Korean card issuers, bank transfer networks and easy-pay wallets. It runs the payment window, collects the money and settles it to your bank account in won. In Korea the PG is also the party that signs the merchant contract and puts your business through card company review, so choosing a PG is as much a contract decision as a technical one.

Global processors have narrowed the gap. Stripe now lets businesses in a list of supported countries (the US, the UK, Japan, Singapore, Hong Kong and most of the EU) accept locally issued Korean cards, Kakao Pay and Naver Pay. The customer is redirected to Stripe's local processor partner to authenticate, prices must be in KRW, and the minimum amount is 100 KRW. South Korea itself is not on that list of business locations, so this route serves foreign companies selling into Korea, not Korean entities.

The trade-off is coverage and familiarity. A domestic PG offers the full set of methods Korean shoppers see on local sites, including bank transfer and virtual accounts, and its checkout looks the way Korean customers expect. Before choosing, check whether your customers mostly pay by card, which wallets they use, and whether you need won settled to a Korean bank account.

Which Korean payment gateways should you know?

The four names below are the domestic PGs foreign teams run into most often, plus the two routes that work without a Korean entity and one integration layer. The table sticks to what each provider's own pages state.

PortOne (many Korean developers still know it by its former brand, iamport) is worth understanding even if you never use it. It does not replace the PG contract. It gives you one SDK and one API across several PGs, which helps if you expect to switch PGs or run two of them side by side.

How do KakaoPay, Naver Pay and Toss Pay fit in?

Easy-pay wallets are payment methods, not gateways. Korean shoppers store cards or bank accounts in Kakao Pay, Naver Pay, Toss Pay, Samsung Pay or PAYCO and approve the payment inside that app. For a merchant, the usual way to offer them is through the PG: Toss Payments, for example, lists Toss Pay, Kakao Pay, Naver Pay, PAYCO, Samsung Pay, Apple Pay, L.Pay and SSG Pay as supported easy pays.

Through Stripe, the separately documented methods are Korean cards, Kakao Pay, Naver Pay, PAYCO and Samsung Pay, each with its own availability notes. Stripe's documentation, for example, states that Kakao Pay is not available to businesses in Singapore. If a particular wallet matters to your customers, check it method by method. A processor that "supports Korea" in general may not offer that wallet.

Can a foreign company use a Korean payment gateway?

For a domestic PG, plan on a Korean business entity. Toss Payments' application asks for the business registration number you want PG service for. Its published flow runs from application to document upload, contract review, card company review and only then payments and settlement. A corporate applicant is asked for documents such as the business registration certificate, a recent corporate register extract, a corporate seal certificate and a shareholder register. These are Korean documents, which is why foreign companies without a branch or subsidiary rarely get past the first step.

That leaves three realistic paths:

• Sell from your existing entity. Use Stripe's Korean payment methods if your company is in a supported country, or talk to a cross-border provider such as Eximbay.
• Set up a Korean entity or branch and contract a domestic PG directly. This is the most work, but it gives you full method coverage and won settlement in Korea.
• Have a Korean partner hold the merchant contract, for example a distributor or reseller who sells on your behalf. The integration is the same, but the contract, refunds and tax sit with the partner, so put that in writing first.

Which path is right depends on tax, refunds and who your customer legally buys from. Those are questions for your accountant. A developer can wire up any of the three. If you are weighing the Stripe route, does Stripe work in Korea? covers its conditions in detail.

Can you use Shopify, WooCommerce or a custom build?

Shopify Payments is not available in South Korea. Shopify's list of supported countries does not include it, so Korean stores use third-party providers. Two developments are worth knowing. Toss Payments announced a direct Shopify integration on 24 June 2026, and Eximbay lists a Shopify app that accepts major Korean cards plus Naver Pay, Kakao Pay and PAYCO. Both still involve a contract with the provider, so the eligibility questions above don't go away. For the platform choice itself, see Cafe24 vs Shopify for selling in Korea.

On WooCommerce or a custom stack you integrate the PG's SDK and API yourself. That is more work, but you control the order model, how a payment is recorded and what happens when a webhook arrives late. A custom build also suits services where payment is one step in a longer flow, such as a booking, a quote approval or a subscription renewal.

What does the integration work look like, step by step?

The steps below are the same whichever domestic PG you choose. The time estimates are for the development work only. Contract and card company review run on the PG's schedule, which we can't speed up or promise.

Our public estimator prices this work as a module. A one-time payment integration is listed at 800,000 to 1,800,000 KRW, and a recurring (subscription) payment at 2,000,000 to 4,000,000 KRW. Both exclude 10% VAT, and the PG's own fees are charged separately (pricing catalogue v1.1, 23 September 2026). For the Toss Payments specifics, see our Toss Payments integration guide.

What should you prepare before you contact a PG?

• Your legal entity and where it is registered, and whether you have a Korean business registration number.
• A list of payment methods you actually need: cards only, or cards plus specific wallets, bank transfer or virtual accounts.
• One-off payments, recurring billing, or both. Recurring billing usually means a separate review and a separate key type.
• Your refund policy and who handles customer disputes.
• The checkout URL and a working staging site, because reviewers look at what customers will see.
• Who on your side will receive webhook alerts and settlement reports.

What we've seen building for Korea

Our own client portal bills maintenance through PayApp, a Korean payment service, using recurring card payments. Three things from that build apply to any Korean PG.

First, recurring billing is not "set up a charge". Registering a recurring payment issues a link, and nothing is charged until the customer authenticates their card once on that link. Your system has to treat "link sent" and "billing active" as different states.

Second, a webhook is a claim, not proof. Check each provider's documentation for how its notifications can be verified, and never mark an order paid on the notification body alone. Where a provider offers a payment lookup API, as Toss Payments does, confirm the payment through it before recording money as received.

Third, keep the payment decision in one place. Put the question "can we trust this request and record a payment?" in one small, separately tested function. If those checks are spread through the route handler, a missing condition goes unnoticed, and the cost is recording money that never arrived.

Frequently asked questions

Can I accept Kakao Pay without a Korean company?

Yes, through a global processor. Stripe documents Kakao Pay for businesses in supported countries such as the US, the UK, Japan and most of the EU (not Singapore), with prices in KRW and the customer redirected to a local partner to approve the payment.

What payment methods are accepted in Korea for online shoppers?

Cards and easy-pay wallets. The wallets most checkouts offer are Kakao Pay, Naver Pay, Toss Pay, Samsung Pay and PAYCO. A domestic PG also offers bank transfer and virtual accounts, which are not among the Korean methods Stripe documents.

Can I use Shopify Payments in Korea?

No. South Korea is not on Shopify's list of countries where Shopify Payments is available. Korean stores use third-party providers, such as the Toss Payments integration announced in June 2026 or Eximbay's Shopify app.

What are the major payment gateway companies in South Korea?

The domestic PGs foreign teams meet most often are Toss Payments, KG Inicis, NHN KCP and NicePay. PortOne is an integration layer over several of them, and Stripe and Eximbay are the usual routes for merchants without a Korean entity.

Should I choose Toss Payments or Eximbay?

It depends mostly on your entity. Toss Payments' merchant application asks for a Korean business registration number, so it fits a company registered in Korea. Eximbay focuses on cross-border payments, which is the route foreign merchants usually look at first. Compare the methods, settlement currency and fees each one offers you in writing.

How long does a PG integration take?

The development work is usually measured in days rather than weeks. Our pricing catalogue allows 3 to 5 working days of development for a one-time payment module. The contract and card company review run separately on the PG's timeline, so start that first.

Planning a Korean checkout?

If you are deciding between a domestic PG and a global processor, or you already have a contract and need the integration built, send us your requirements. We will tell you which route fits your entity and what the work involves, and we can prepare the PG application and handle the Korean-side communication with you; your company remains the contracting party. For the rest of a launch, see Korea market entry. See what we build on our web development page, and read about selling online in Korea and the wider Korean website localization checklist.

Sources

All checked October 2026.

• Stripe: Accept a payment using local cards in South Korea
• Stripe: Accept a payment using Kakao Pay
• Stripe: Accept a payment using Naver Pay
• Stripe: Payment method support
• Toss Payments: electronic payment application guide (Korean)
• Toss Payments: easy pay methods (Korean)
• Toss: Toss Payments partners with Shopify (24 June 2026)
• Shopify Help Center: Shopify Payments supported countries
• Shopify App Store: Eximbay Local
• Business Wire: Eximbay strengthens cross-border eCommerce fraud management (2022)
• PortOne developer center (Korean)
• KG Inicis developer manual
• NHN KCP developer site
• NicePay developer site
• PayApp developer documentation (Korean)