How to Import an IC Card (Icoca, Pasmo or Suica) Into Your iPhone

Connect your IC card to your iPhone to easily pay for train travel and purchases in Japan with just one tap.

Easily connect your Icoca or other prepaid travel card to your iPhone for seamless one tap transit rides and purchases in Japan

Traveling via the public transit network in Japan is one of those things that seems quite complex at first glance, but in reality is actually pretty straightforward once you get started.

Prepaid travel cards can make the process much, much easier. Having fares automatically calculated for you makes riding transit a breeze, not to mention you’ll never be fishing through your pockets for change again. That’s why purchasing an Icoca, Suica or Pasmo is one of the first recommendations we make for a new visitor to Japan.

Starting in 2023, things got even more convenient when Apple introduced support for the ICOCA card via its Apple Wallet app.

That’s right, you can now connect your ICOCA card to your iPhone, allowing you to pay for your transit rides and purchases with the tap of your phone. You’ll no longer need to carry around a physical card and you can even link your credit card for automatic top-ups.

Getting started

Before you get started, make sure you have the following items handy:

1. Your physical Icoca (or Suica or Pasmo) card
2. Apple iPhone 8 or newer running iOS 16 or higher

How to connect your physical ICOCA card to your iPhone

Here are the steps to connect your physical ICOCA card to your iPhone:

1. On your iPhone, open the “Wallet” app
     
2. Tap the “+” icon to add a new card, then select “Transit Card”
     
3. Choose the card you want to add (Icoca, Suica or Pasmo)
     
4. Tap “Transfer Existing Card”
     
5. Enter the last four digits from the back of the card. (Birth date is not required for standard Icoca cards, so you can leave that field blank)
     
6. On a table or other flat surface, place your phone on top of the Icoca card until “Card Added” shows on screen confirming the transfer
    

That’s it! You can now view your card balance and start making purchases and riding local transport with just your iPhone.

You can also go ahead and discard the plastic card, as it will no longer function once connected to an iPhone.

Important Notes

There are a few important notes to keep in mind after transferring your physical Icoca card:

• The physical card will no longer function, your iPhone will be required for all future transit rides.
• Your unique card can only be connected to one device at a time. If you get a new phone, you’ll need to transfer it to the new phone to use it.
• By default Express Mode is turned on. This means that payment can be made in one tap of the phone without authenticating via passcode, Face ID or Touch ID. You can toggle this function on and off by clicking the “…” icon and “Card Details” next to the card in your Apple Wallet.

Author
Mike Rogers is a content creator who has lived on-and-off in Osaka for over 13 years. When not in Osaka, he’s travelling the world with his worldschooling family of four or building up his small homestead on Canada’s west coast. His adventures and exploits are documented on his website, Slowsteading.

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