Hana to launch new travel-specific card in partnership with Visa

Hana Card Co. CI

As competition heats up for the increasingly popular ‘travel cards’ in South Korea, Hana Card Co.’s new service will not only waive foreign exchange fees but also exempt users from fees at 40,000 automated teller machines (ATMs) across the United States. Cardholders are expected to save $3 to $10 per transaction in fees.

With all five major financial groups in the country fully committing to their travel card offerings, related services are expected to evolve even further moving forward.

According to sources from the financial industry on Thursday, Hana Card is set to launch a new overseas travel-specific card, ‘Travlgo,’ on August 22nd, 2024, in partnership with global payment network brand Visa Inc.

The three-way collaboration in this partnership also includes Allpoint, a Visa partner that operates ATMs. Cardholders will be able to withdraw local currency without any fees at 40,000 Allpoint ATMs in the United States.

Hana Card‘s ‘Travlog’ card has been an extraordinarily successful product, with over 5 million units issued in just 1 year and 11 months since its launch. This has sparked competition from other financial groups, which have also launched travel-specific products in 2024 to date.

As the first mover, Hana Card needed a differentiating factor to maintain its leading position and as Mastercard Inc. and UnionPay are more specialized in Japan, Europe, and Southeast Asia, it chose to partner with Visa, which is strong in the U.S. market.

Hana Card is the only Korean company aside from fintech company Travel Wallet Co. that has partnered with Visa in this field.