Job Discussion Forums

[MeyeQui]

Sorry, I'm new to the whole world of sending money home. I live in a small town on Kyushu and for some strange reason -maybe because of the earth's tilt- the post office cannot arrange a money transfer directly to my bank. YThey only do person to person transfers which by the way would take over a month and inconvinience the person back home who'd have to go to my bank and make the deposit.

So I discovered Lloyds which does international transfers. It's based outta Tokyo though. So my question is:

Can I open an account with them and do remittances from here on Kyushu?? I currently have a bank account with Oita Bank and my bank back home is a CIBC in Montreal, Canada.

Thank you.

[worldwidealive]

Yes, you should be able to do exactly what you are saying. I have used Lloyd's several times and find their service to be great. You may already know, but their site is at http://www.golloyds.com. If I submit by 3pm in Japan, due to the time difference, my money is sitting in my US bank by midnight in Japan.

Once you have an active account with them you can do a domestic transfer (a "furikomi") using your bank's ATM into your Lloyd's account and they sweep the money out and into your Canadian bank that same day. Very easy. When they send your account infortmation they will also send a letter in Japanese that you can show to a bank employee to help you through the ATM functions if your Japanese ability is weak.

A word of advice about Lloyds - I find that their exchange rates are very good. But, remember that with each transfer you will likely pay your Japanese bank about 500 Yen for the domestic transfer, another 2000 Yen as a service fee from Lloyds, and a $10 CAD fee from the intermediary bank that they use in Canada, which happens to be CIBC. Then, if your account at home charges for an inbound wire transfer you'll pay that. In a nutshell, depending on your situation, you'll pay anywhere around 3500 - 5000 Yen per transaction. The good exchange rate and the fast service may be worth it, but if your financial situation allows, it is best to only send money after you have saved up for awhile. Costs are per transcaction and don't go up based on the amount you remit.

WWA

[canuck]

The above information is correct. I send money to Canada all the time. If you don't want to set up the Lloyds thing, you could send money to a relative through the post office and have them deposit it into your account in Canada.

I set everything up with Lloyds and send through my UFJ bank account. It costs 2000 yen, plus I pay $10 at the Royal Bank in Canada. I have internet banking set up, so I can see the money arrive in my account and do my banking over the internet.

[voodoochild]

Good exchange rate? i dunno about that ...they peg 3 yen to the pound.. check the real time rates here http://www.dailyfx.com/FinanceChart.html?symbol=GBP/JPY and then check the rates on www.golloyds.com

[Gordon]

[JimDunlop2]

[worldwidealive]

[worldwidealive]

[ERINJK]

I use Llyods every month. You can transfer from anywhere in Japan into their account. As long as you have access to a bank machine you are fine.

I find with Royal Bank in Canada if the transfer is under $1000 it costs you $10. Anything over $1000 costs you $20. With CIBC check it out on their website or phone them!

You don't need to stamp it, a signature will be fine.

[JimDunlop2]

[Dominique]

I went to UFJ Bank and I had the remittance form filled out and all. They wouldnt take it because they said that they had no idea what the hell i was talking about.
They said I just need to transfer via UFJ to my home branch. I really really wish I had an English person to speak to at that bank because i was going to my dad who had no idea what the hell I wanted to do either.

[canuck]