Baemin to open Apple Pay to foreign-issued cards

A Baemin app screen showing features translated into English (Woowa Brothers)

South Korean food delivery platform Baemin, operated by Woowa Brothers, is set to accept overseas Apple Pay cards, becoming the first such platform in the country to do so as foreign demand for its services surges.

According to the company on Sunday, the move will open Apple Pay, previously limited to Korean-issued cards, to those on global networks including Visa, Mastercard, JCB and American Express, starting June 2.

"The addition of overseas Apple Pay card support, combined with our multilingual offerings, will make it easier for international visitors to experience Korea's food delivery culture," a company official said.

The payment upgrade comes amid a sharp rise in overseas spending on the platform.

Delivery orders paid through foreign payment methods rose nearly 3.7-fold in the first quarter from a year earlier, while transaction volume from overseas payments in April surged roughly 14 times compared with the same month last year.

The payment upgrade builds on Baemin's broader push to reach non-Korean speakers, including the rollout of English, Chinese and Japanese language support earlier this year, powered by artificial intelligence to deliver more context-aware translations throughout the app.

In May, the company released an English version of a visual manual originally developed to help elderly users and people with developmental disabilities navigate the platform, with plans to continue expanding accessibility across its services.