Job Discussion Forums

[inuzuki8605]

Hey! I recently got hired to work in Japan and I plan to move at the end of March for training. needless to say, I'm running around like a chicken with its head cut off (sorry chicken lovers).

I have student loans and a credit card that I am still paying on but I plan to be in Japan for 3 to 5 years plus and I need to find the easiest and cheapest way to pay my bills back home and I'm assuming Japanese Bank Cards (debit/credit) won't work for an online payment with an american company like Bank of America or the Direct Loans company, correct? Who do you pay your loans? (If you have them)

I heard about a company called Remit where you can go to a Family Mart and transfer money back to your country for really cheap. It's really new, I read that they passed it on Tuesday of this week. Does anyone know about this company? Or any other way i can pay my bills easily and cheaply?

[Apsara]

I haven't heard of Remit and would be interested to know more about it, but for other methods, try a search here for "sending money home" as it's one of the more frequently asked questions and has been discussed at length in other threads.

Basically, you have the choice of the post office or the GoLloyds remittance service. You used to be able to send it the xe.com website but that has apparently ended quite recently.

You can also send it through a major branch of your bank, but that means paying a lot of fees and doing a lot of paperwork, so most people don't go that route.

[Glenski]

Do you have someone you can trust implicitly with your funds back home? If so, arrange to have them pay. A relative can sign checks for you, for example.

Also, you don't have to use a Japanese credit card. Keep your American one, and use that, thus avoiding charges for exchange rates. The only thing will be (as I wrote above) to have someone write the check to cover the credit card charge.

Alternately, have that trusted person make a bank transfer from your American funds, so that a check is not necessary.

[Apsara]

It's very easy though just to set up a GoLloyds account, send money home, and then pay your bills there through online banking- I have been doing this for about 10 years now.

Are cheques still common in the US? People have all but stopped using them in NZ.

[Bread]

[the4th2001]

[Lyrajean]

I'd do what most everyone else had suggested. I have a savings and checking account back home with the local credit union. I remit money via golloyds for long term savings and to pay on student loans, CC etc...

Never had an issue. They even let my mom deposit $$ in the account, and if there is an emergency and I need things to work the other way I can use my debit for that acc. at the Japanese post office. the credit union/debit people were kind enough to open the card so they never question charges made in Japan.

[G Cthulhu]

[balvarez]

I currently live in the US and though checks are still used they are not common. They are generally used to pay rent and when payments are mailed out though even through the mail you can many times put in your CC payment info. I think a lot of people use a check because it tends to take longer for the payment to go through in comparison to a credit card though check payments go through faster now then years ago. When I go shopping I very rarely see anyone pay with a check, actually I'd say it has been years since I've seen someone pay by a check through that route.

Bread, it's tough that your local DMV didn't accept credit card payments. My local one accepts CC though they do not accept cash. I wouldn't be to happy if I had to leave the office after waiting for a while only to have to wait again.