Contact your card issuer through its official app or international support channel as soon as you notice the card is missing. Ask whether to freeze or cancel it, report any unrecognized transactions and confirm what replacement options apply to your particular card.

Take these steps in order

  1. Move somewhere safe. If you are in immediate danger, call the police on 112. For the missing card, use an independently verified issuer contact from its official app or website; do not use a number supplied by an unsolicited message or share a one-time security code.
  2. Ask the issuer to secure the missing card and explain whether a temporary lock or permanent cancellation is appropriate. Check the transaction list and report anything you do not recognize.
  3. Ask whether the issuer can provide an emergency physical or digital card, how long it may take, and whether the option works in your location. If you have a Visa card, Visa's lost-card page describes assistance with your financial institution; availability and timing depend on the institution and location.
  4. If you left the card on transport or at a venue, contact that operator or the appropriate official lost-property office. Incheon Airport’s lost-property guidance distinguishes terminal property from items lost on aircraft, buses and trains. Do not delay protecting the card while waiting for it to be found.
  5. Use a separately held backup payment method if available and contact your accommodation about any immediate payment problem. If you have no safe access to funds, ask your issuer about the options it actually offers. Visa says it may assist with emergency cash or a replacement in coordination with the financial institution; eligibility, timing and charges must be confirmed for your case.
  • Misplaced: Ask the issuer whether temporary locking is possible; keep monitoring transactions.
  • Unknown charge: Report it promptly through the issuer's official dispute process.
  • Replacement: Confirm delivery address, fees and whether a digital alternative is available.
  • Found later: Ask the issuer; do not assume a canceled card is usable again.

Before you travel: make a small backup plan

Save your issuer’s official overseas contact separately from the physical card. Consider a second payment method kept separately, and know how you will reach the issuer if your phone is also missing. Ask your issuer what it will require for identity verification and whether emergency replacement is available where you are going.

Do not publish the card number, PIN, account details, passport image or booking reference. Protections and liability depend on the card, network, issuer, circumstances and applicable rules; this guide does not promise reimbursement or immediate replacement. If you need travel interpretation rather than emergency police help, VISITKOREA lists the 1330 Korea Travel Hotline; it cannot cancel a bank card.

Next: see the Korea problem-solving guide for the appropriate contact for other travel problems.

Official sources checked 9 November 2026: Visa’s lost-card guidance, Incheon Airport’s lost-property guide and VISITKOREA’s emergency FAQ. Visa support is network-specific; contact your actual issuer or payment network.