Job Discussion Forums

[Nabby Adams]

The yen and other currencies are all over the place at the moment. This means that you could lose a lot if you send your money home by agencies such as the post office or Lloyds.

For example yesterday I looked at Golloyds website and they were exchanging yen into pounds at 159. I used an online dealer and got 151 and later in the day I could have got 141....Unbelievable but true. 151 is the rate I exchanged at. The only other charge was about 1800 yen. The reason for the difference is because the currencies are swinging in a matter of minutes. The yen is now back to 151

There are several online dealers, I use ex.com.

This public service announcement is over.

[Smooth Operator]

Do you mean xe.com? How long does it take? What option did you use exactly? I looked at their website and it was not very clear. For instance, I do not receive a monthly statement from my Japanese bank (have passbook instead) so it might be difficult to open an account with xe.com. I guess I need to visit a branch of my Japanese bank to organise a transfer/payment to xe.com. Is that right?

Would you be kind enough to elaborate what steps are necessary to do such a transfer? Thank you.

[johanne]

I used xe.com. You don't need to open a bank account with them. You use your own account. It doesn't matter if you have a bank book or not - you just need your account number. Then you need a receiving account in whatever country you are sending your money too. I sent mine to my mother and she is putting it in GICs for me. I had to go to my bank to make the transfer and it was quite expensive (5,000 yen) because the instructions I received after making the trade indicated I had to make an international wire transfer although I was only sending money to their bank in Tokyo. This was Mizuho. Other banks may be cheaper.

I was a bit confused about this, but went ahead and did it as they suggested but after paying the fee, I contacted XE.com and they told me other people in Japan have done the transfer through the ATM and that is much cheaper, so I'll try that next time. It seems the OP only paid 1,800 yen so maybe that's how he sent the money. I should have called them before, or better yet they should have told me about the ATM thing straight off. Of well, live and learn. If I can do it through the ATM for a low fee, it's definately worth it because the rate you get from them is always much better than the bank or post office rate. The more you are sending home, the more this will matter.

Anyway, how it works is basically you "buy" the currency you want on line. Then you pay for it by sending yen to XE's account here in Japan. Once they get the money they send the equivalent in the currency you bought to the account you specified. If it's in Canada or the US you can send it by EFT and there is no fee.

Their website is not that clear, but it is simple to use and they are very quick to answer questions, either by e-mail or by phone, and will explain patiently until you understand.

[saloc]

I've always just transferred from my local bank here directly to my UK account and pretty much got the rate they have been showing on xe.com and it is in my account at home almost instantaneously. But the rate is changing so quickly that on Friday it literally went from 151 to 145 in less than an hour so you may lose out ( or gain) just depending on how long it takes you to get to the bank!

[Smooth Operator]

Thanks for the reply. I will look over the website again and contact them if I have any questions? What documents did you send them to open your account?

[Smooth Operator]

[saloc]

I think the fee is fixed at about 2500 - 3000 yen, so perhaps not worth it if you are sending smaller amounts regularly, but for larger lump sums it's not bad. I don't tend to send money that often, but when I do I will send a larger amount and am happy to pay that fee for what amounts to a very easy and and transaction.

[Smooth Operator]

Interesting. According to my bank's website their 電信売相場
(TTS - Telegraphic Transfer Selling Rate) was 161yen yesterday, even worse than Lloyds. If your bank gives you close to the real rate then you are lucky. What bank are you using?

[saloc]

I just checked my bank's rates for yesterday and they were giving about 160, too! But last time I sent money home, I'm pretty sure the rate was closer to the real one. There certainly wasn't a five to ten yen difference. I don't now whether the current volatility has anything to do with it. I'm planning sending more soon, but I think I'll need to check more carefully before I do so and probably use xe next time.

[Glenski]

Why not just wait for the exchange rate to be better and go with the place that has the lowest fee (Lloyds or the P.O.)? Patience is a virtue.

[Apsara]

The thing is that you can't be sure that the exchange rate will be better if you wait- waiting for the exchange rate to be better would be quite a gamble. Really it is pretty amazing now anyway compared to what it has been, even if you don't catch it at the lowest point you are still doing pretty well.

[Hoser]

I thought XE gave the actual exchange rate (ie not including whatever was taken off the top by the people doing the exchanges). When I exchanged my money, XE said that the dollar was worth 77 yen, and Lloyds gave me 79 which isn't too shabby. Of course I should have waited because now the dollar is down to like 70!

[Apsara]

Lloyds is always about 2 yen different from the "actual rate". I'm very happy with their service so I'm not too worried about that.

[Glenski]

[Apsara]