Job Discussion Forums

pinoy0320 · Joined: 09 Dec 2008 Posts: 3

I was just curious if anyone on here who has worked for Interac, gotten a loan from them? If so, how much was the interest and how fast did you receive it upon arrival? Do you recommend it at all? Thanks in advance.

seklarwia · Posted: Thu Apr 09, 2009 9:38 pm Post subject:

I made sure I didn't take any loans from them. It's not that it seemed such a particularly bad deal, but if anything should happen that you need to leave the job early (maybe your placement sucks, maybe you feel you are being unfairly treated by the company itself, or even a family crisis back home, etc), you will need to pay back whatever you took in terms of loans immediately.

degolasse · Joined: 26 Jan 2007 Posts: 21

I got a loan when I started with Interac. I really didn't want to, but I arrived in Japan with about $500 to my name. After I furnished my apartment with just enough stuff to live, I had enough money for instant noodles for the first week until my loan came in. I remember actually the day before my loan came in walking 2 1/2 hours to the closest bank that would cash my last travelers check, because I didn't have enough money to pay for the bus.
As far as I can remember the interest wasn't outrageous. I'm sure it's not a great rate, but since the loan saved my ass (a choice between going to Japan or staying home), I felt it was worth it. You have a choice as to how you want to pay it back, either all from your first paycheck, or spread over a few months. Your interest rate will be based on how long you have the loan for. I got a loan of a full months pay, and then paid it back in quarters over 4 months.

seklarwia · Posted: Sat Apr 11, 2009 3:54 am Post subject:

I think you were supposed to be allowed upto a 250,000 yen loan, but I'm pretty sure the lot that arrived with me were only allowed a maximum of 200,000. Maybe just too many were requiring loans this time round due to the crap exchange rate at the time.