Job Discussion Forums

[shmooj]

One thing to bear in mind if you are using a card regularly is that you need to juggle two accounts in mind: your Japanese one that at home. Sending money back to your home country to cover bills you pay on a credit card cos you have no cash in Japan is a Catch 22 situation you really don't want to end up in.

Just something to bear in mind...

[Albright]

I have one credit card (formerly two, but I recently told CitiBank where they could shove their high interest rate and "credit protection" scams), plus a car loan through my credit union and a loan through another company that went toward buying the computer I am typing this on. I pay them all online; each month, I log on to each company's web site and set up a transfer from my checking account to the company. I'm happy because I can make the payment more quickly and securely, and the company is happy because they don't have to spend forty cents a each month to send me a bill. I suggest everyone pay whatever bills they can this way; it sure beats licking stamps. I only hope that when I get J-side, all of my creditors will accept my account there.

I wonder; has anyone considered using PayPal, YowCow or a similar service to transfer funds from one account to another? How do these fare versus more traditional money-wiring systems?

[space]

Paypal can be very slow. I've waited 2 weeks for a transfer to make it, may as well mail a check in that case.

[Gordon]

[sethness]

David W's right, you can rather easily get credit cards through major supermarkets and appliance stores (like DeoDeo appliance store).

Go for a Visa card, not a JCB, because JCB's useful in Japan and almost nowhere else except where Japanese tourism thrives.

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Another option is a Visa DEBIT card. It works exactly like a credit card, except you don't get credit. It's also like an ATM (cash corner) card, and will even work in Japan if you've got a debit card tied to a bank account that has bank branches or sister-banks in Japan.
For example, I had a Visa debit/atm card that was based on whatever money I had in the Bank of Hawaii. When that account ran out of money, I couldn't spend any more.

However, debit cards are almost unheard of in Japan. And, as someone else said, it may be difficult to deposit money into a foreign bank...at least, without incurring a lot of useless money-exchange-rate fees when you deposit or withdraw. Ouch.

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About your utilities-- most people have their utilities (gas, water, phone) deducted automatically from ANY kind of Japanese bank account, usually "savings"-type. Japanese savings accounts earn really crappy interest, though. And, check books and checking accounts are almost unheard of here. I personally have never seen a check book here in Japan, nor heard of one.

You can also pay for them in cash at any chain convenience store or the post office.

[chixdiggit]

Japanese tourism "thrives" almost everywhere and I have used my JCB all over the world. Furthermore, J-Debit is becoming more widespread every day and I use it often with a japanese debit card. Also, most North American debit cards can be used through post office atms but they ding you for 5 bucks each time so make it big.
Cheers,
Chix.

[sethness]

Chix, tell me more about J-debit. Does it have the Visa logo on it, or is it attached to JCB, or something else entirely ?

Sounds interesting. I hate credit cards, but i sure wouldnt' mind having a debit card with a Visa logo on it, while i live in Japan. (For shopping at Amazon.com and stuff like that.)

[chixdiggit]

J debit is only for Japanese debit cards as far as I know. I haven't seen a Japanese Visa Cheque card like the ones in the States. I do recommend having a credit card here for sure. You mentioned Amazon and for Amazon.jp you don't need a credit card, but if you're like me and still order for Amazon.com in the U.S you will need a credit card. JCB actually works for the American site as well. I didn't mean to imply JCB was a better option than Visa or connected to debit transactions. I just prefer it because I get thousands of air miles, but any card will do here, Visa, MC, UC, JACCS, DC, AMEX. Actually Amex and Diners aren't quite as widely accepted here. J-debit is still trying to get on its feet and the Japanese, as you will see, do not adapt quickly to major changes. Credit cards are more and more common but this is still predominantly a cash society. If you have a credit card already, bring it, as getting one here seems to be a crapshoot for foreigners. To sum up, the J-debit system isn't widely available so don't even think about it as your main method of transactions in this country. Even with a credit card you won't be able to avoid carrying cash here. Good luck.
Chix