{"id":708,"date":"2026-07-02T07:47:47","date_gmt":"2026-07-02T07:47:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/globalriceball.website\/"},"modified":"2026-07-02T12:56:35","modified_gmt":"2026-07-02T12:56:35","slug":"easycard-taiwan-guide","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/globalriceball.website\/en\/easycard-taiwan-guide\/","title":{"rendered":"EasyCard Complete Guide: Where to Buy, How to Top Up, Using It on the Metro, Buses &amp; Convenience Stores, and How to Get a Refund"},"content":{"rendered":"<style class=\"lt-tbl-css\">.entry-content table,.lt-tbl{border-collapse:collapse;width:100%;margin:1.2em 0}.entry-content th,.entry-content td,.lt-tbl th,.lt-tbl td{border:1px solid #d4dcd7;padding:8px 11px;text-align:left;vertical-align:top}.entry-content th,.lt-tbl th{background:#eef3f0;font-weight:600}<\/style>\n<p>Updated: 2026-07-02 | For real-time information, always refer to official announcements.<\/p>\n<p><em>On your first trip to Taiwan, rather than studying a pile of tickets, it's better to first grab an EasyCard at a convenience store. This article explains it all at once: where to buy it, how to top it up, what you can pay for with it, and how to get a refund before you leave.<\/em><\/p>\n<p>The EasyCard is a contactless stored-value card you can tap to pay on the metro, buses, some trains, at convenience stores, YouBike, and parking lots. Buy one after you land, and it basically solves eighty percent of your daily transportation. It's the most widely used transit stored-value card in Taiwan, working most smoothly in Taipei and the north. In the south, there's another common card called \"iPASS,\" which is more prevalent around Kaohsiung. For travelers, the two overlap heavily in function, and both work on almost all metros and buses across Taiwan, so if you're mainly staying in Taipei, just grab an EasyCard for the simplest option, and only consider iPASS if you're mainly in Kaohsiung, no need to buy both. One thing to remember first: a regular physical EasyCard is \"unregistered,\" so losing it is like losing cash, anyone who picks it up can use it, and the balance isn't guaranteed to be recoverable, so don't load too much at once.<\/p>\n<p>Buying a card is very convenient and available almost everywhere after you land: the four major convenience store chains (7-ELEVEN, FamilyMart, Hi-Life, OK) sell them 24 hours a day; information counters at Taipei Metro, Taoyuan Airport MRT, and Kaohsiung Metro stations have them too; and after arriving at Taoyuan Airport, you can buy one at the Airport MRT counter or a convenience store, ready to use the moment you clear customs. A regular card costs NT$100, which is a \"card issuance fee,\"<strong>non-refundable<\/strong>(the old refundable-deposit system has been discontinued, so travelers should take special note). In other words, the NT$100 you pay for the card won't come back to you; when you later return the card, you only get back the remaining stored value on it. If you want to save this cost, those on short trips who only take a few rides can weigh whether getting a card is worth it.<\/p>\n<p>An EasyCard comes empty when you buy it and must be topped up before use. To add value to a physical card,<strong>accepts cash only (New Taiwan dollars)<\/strong>. The most convenient way is at a convenience store counter: just tell the clerk \"top up XXX dollars,\" which works at all four major convenience store chains and IMei stores, and you can check your balance at the same time. Self-service top-up machines inside metro stations also accept cash; some convenience stores and metro stations even support small-change top-ups, so coins can go onto your card too. A single top-up ranges from NT$100 to NT$10,000, and the card balance is capped at NT$10,000. When you tap in and out on the metro or buses, the reader displays your balance in real time, and if your balance is insufficient you won't be able to enter the station, so keep an eye on it.<\/p>\n<table class=\"lt-tbl\">\n<thead>\n<tr>\n<th>Item<\/th>\n<th>Details<\/th>\n<th>Notes<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n<tbody>\n<tr>\n<td>Standard card price<\/td>\n<td>NT$100 (card issuance fee)<\/td>\n<td>Non-refundable, not a deposit<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Single top-up amount<\/td>\n<td>NT$100 \u2013 10,000<\/td>\n<td>Physical cards: cash only<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Maximum card balance<\/td>\n<td>NT$10,000<\/td>\n<td>\u2014<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<tr>\n<td>Card return handling fee<\/td>\n<td>NT$20<\/td>\n<td>Charged only if the card has been used fewer than 5 times or held for less than 3 months; otherwise free<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<p>The amounts in the table above are subject to official announcements; please refer to the EasyCard Corporation's official website and on-site information for actual figures.<\/p>\n<h4>What exactly can you pay for with an EasyCard, and where can't you<\/h4>\n<p>The EasyCard works on the Taipei Metro, Taoyuan Airport MRT, Kaohsiung Metro, Taichung Metro, and most city buses across Taiwan, which is its core use. The rules for tapping when boarding and alighting buses vary slightly by county and city (some tap only when boarding, some tap both on and off), so just follow the instructions on the bus or do as the locals do. For Taiwan Railway (TRA)<strong>local trains<\/strong>let you tap the EasyCard directly to enter and exit stations, which is great for short trips; however,<strong>Reserved seats (Tze-Chiang, Chu-Kuang, etc.) can't be boarded with tap-in alone<\/strong>, you still need to buy a separate ticket, so when taking a reserved-seat train across counties, buy a ticket first, a point that's often confused. The High Speed Rail (HSR) is the easiest to misunderstand:<strong>A standard physical EasyCard currently cannot be tapped directly to ride the HSR.<\/strong>What can tap in to ride the non-reserved seats is a \"co-branded EasyCard credit card with auto-top-up enabled,\" and the ordinary EasyCard that regular travelers carry does not apply. To take the HSR, book on the official website or buy a ticket on site, and don't assume you can walk straight through the gate with an EasyCard. As for everyday small purchases, the four major convenience store chains, some restaurants, drugstores, and parking lots all accept the EasyCard, so you can tap to buy a bottle of water or check out. If you want to ride a YouBike shared bike, you also need to link an EasyCard or iPASS, since contactless credit cards don't work here.<\/p>\n<p>If you're leaving Taiwan and don't want to keep the card, you can refund the remaining stored value on it (remember: the NT$100 issuance fee is non-refundable). Refund locations include the information counters at Taipei Metro stations and the information counters at Taoyuan and Taichung Metro, where unregistered cards can be refunded. As for the handling fee, if the card has been used<strong>fewer than 5 times or for less than 3 months<\/strong>, a NT$20 handling fee will be deducted, and beyond that it's waived. On-site cash refunds are, as a rule, limited to a total of NT$1,000 (inclusive) or less; amounts over NT$1,000 are usually no longer processed on site and require an online refund application on the official website; and amounts of NT$3,000 (inclusive) or more are not paid in cash and require you to provide a bank account for a transfer. A practical tip: in the last few days before leaving Taiwan, stop frantically topping up and run your balance down to near zero, so you don't have to make a trip just to refund a few dozen dollars and get charged a handling fee anyway. For detailed refund rules, please refer to the latest notices on the EasyCard Corporation's official website.<\/p>\n<p>If you haven't sorted out internet access by the time you arrive, it's a good idea to get mobile data set up first - it makes checking routes, hailing rides and viewing your balance much smoother.<a class=\"lt-btn\" href=\"https:\/\/holafly.sjv.io\/L0RdLZ\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow sponsored noopener\">Order a Taiwan eSIM with Holafly<\/a>If you want to book cable-car, theme-park or sightseeing tickets, you can also buy them online in advance and redeem them on-site to skip the queues:<a class=\"lt-btn\" href=\"https:\/\/www.kkday.com\/?cid=25297\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"nofollow sponsored noopener\">Browse Taiwan tickets on KKday<\/a>(Klook Taiwan links are being compiled, TODO_KLOOK_TW; for now you can check out our<a href=\"\/en\/category\/transportation\/\">Transport Guide<\/a>). For more on transportation and pre-trip preparation, you can refer to our<a href=\"\/en\/category\/taiwan-travel-guide\/\">Taiwan Travel Guide<\/a>with<a href=\"\/en\/category\/esim-internet\/\">eSIM &amp; Internet<\/a>section. Some of the links above are partner links; for details see our<a href=\"\/en\/affiliate-disclosure\/\">affiliate disclosure statement<\/a>\u3002<\/p>\n<h4>Frequently Asked Questions<\/h4>\n<h5>Can I get the NT$100 on an EasyCard refunded?<\/h5>\n<p>No. The NT$100 is a card issuance fee, not a deposit, so it's non-refundable when you return the card, and only the remaining stored value on the card is refunded (if used fewer than 5 times or held for less than 3 months, an additional NT$20 handling fee may be deducted).<\/p>\n<h5>Which one should I buy, EasyCard or iPASS?<\/h5>\n<p>For travelers there's little difference - both work on almost all metros and buses across Taiwan. If you'll mainly be in Taipei, get an EasyCard; if you'll mainly be in Kaohsiung, consider an iPASS. There's no need to buy both.<\/p>\n<h5>Can I top up a physical EasyCard with a credit card?<\/h5>\n<p>As a rule, topping up a physical card only accepts cash (New Taiwan dollars). If you want to use electronic payment, you can instead link an account through the \"EasyWallet\" app, or use an EasyCard co-branded card with auto top-up.<\/p>\n<h5>Can I tap an EasyCard directly to ride the HSR?<\/h5>\n<p>A standard physical EasyCard cannot be tapped directly to ride the HSR; what lets you tap in for a non-reserved seat is an EasyCard co-branded credit card with auto top-up enabled. To ride the HSR, book on the official website or buy tickets on-site.<\/p>\n<h5>If I lose my card, can I recover the balance?<\/h5>\n<p>An unregistered standard EasyCard can't be reported lost, and there's no guarantee of recovering the balance - it's just like losing cash, so it's best not to load too much money onto it at once.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>How to buy an EasyCard, how to top it up, how to use it on the metro, buses, convenience stores, and YouBike, plus the fees and rules for returning your card and getting your remaining balance back before leaving Taiwan, all explained in one place, so first-time visitors to Taiwan can follow along and get the hang of it right away.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":745,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[25],"tags":[50,56,57],"class_list":["post-708","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-transportation","tag-taiwan-transport","tag-easycard","tag-mrt"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalriceball.website\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalriceball.website\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalriceball.website\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalriceball.website\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalriceball.website\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=708"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/globalriceball.website\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":806,"href":"https:\/\/globalriceball.website\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/708\/revisions\/806"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalriceball.website\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/745"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/globalriceball.website\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=708"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalriceball.website\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=708"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/globalriceball.website\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=708"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}