Job Discussion Forums

[johnyuehan]

I like buying USD TC's at my local bank in Japan. Just 1% for fees. Signing all the individual checks & spending 20 min. or so is an inconvenience, but overall it's so cheap compared to the alternatives that I don't mind at all.

My bank in the States lets me send the TCs directly to them. On the 'Pay to the order of' line I write the bank's name, so only the bank can cash them, not some thief. Send those TCs along w. a deposit slip for my bank acct. & they deposit directly into my bank acct., no extra fees. So my only charges to get the money to my stateside acct. are the 1% cost of purchasing the TCs, an envelope & postage, that's it.

Llyoyd's is a faster way to get money home, but expensive when I used it. There's the bank furikomi charge to send my money to Lloyd's, Lloyd's Y2,000 fees, my Stateside bank charges $10, & mysterious middlemen somewhere take $35 somewhere in the process. Ended up being about $65 in fees just to send money home, quite exorbitant I feel. Will only use Lloyd's for emergency purposes now.

[JL]

Mailing the TC's to your Stateside bank sounds like a good idea. Don't see why this wouldn't work with any bank in the U.S., though I would recommend each person confirms in advance that his or her bank will allow this. That was a good tip for those not ready to return, in person, to the U.S., Johnyuehan.

As for Lloyds, I believe it's still the cheapest option for wire transfers. The fee taken out by the intermediary bank ($35 in above example) has become more and more standardized. Using a bank that has it's own clearing bank in the U.S. (Sumitomo Mitsui, BTMU did; Mizuho may now, too), sometimes reduces the hit. Also, I used to observe that on smaller transfers, this fee wasn't always incurred. I called my U.S. bank for clarification, and was told that while the policy for clearing bank fees hadn't always been clear cut, the trend has been to assess them more consistently. I wish I could offer less murky information, but unlike some other posters around here, I try not to make sweeping claims when I don't firmly know all the facts. But in short, when making wire transfers from Japan to the U.S., intermediary clearing bank fees have become the norm, and also Lloyd's Japan-side fees still look to be the cheapest option.

So making use of TC's appears to be a very good way to go. Also, sorry to be schoolmarmish here, but for those who don't already know, never make TC's payable to yourself, or to another individual. I believe one needs a merchant's account at a bank to be able to accept TC's. At least confirm this too, with your Stateside bank, if you're considering making out TC's payable to yourself or another individual. Save yourself some financial heartache.

[markle]

[Revenant]

Derailing and antagonistic posts have been removed. Keep it civil and on topic or the thread will be locked and those involved will face the consequences.

[JL]