Job Discussion Forums

B0RGNINE · Joined: 28 Jun 2008 Posts: 48

I'm needing to send money back to the States. When I was living in Sapporo, I always just sent home international postal money orders from the post office (�500 charge for up to $700 USD). I was going to do the same thing here in Kawasaki, but unfortunately I don't leave work until 5:30 M-F which puts me back in my neighborhood long after the local post office is closed. My supervisor said I could walk down to the post office nearest the school on my lunch break, but they told me at the PO that they don't offer the service at that branch office.

Does anyone have any good methods in sending money home? I'm looking for a method that is a reasonable combination of cheap and convenient.

Thanks.

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

The postal rate has gone up fivefold or so. You'd be better off doing it online by GoLloyds if you can't make it to a post office that accommodates. Costs about 2000 yen.

Ryu Hayabusa · Joined: 08 Jan 2008 Posts: 182

I'm going to have to chime in and say that, while Gollyods is faster and easier to get set up with, it is very expensive compared to xe.com.

Golloyds has a flat rate of 2000 yen for any transaction plus a $15 fee from intermediary banks (for Canadian transactions) not to mention any fees from beneficiary banks. In my case, $30 CAD from my bank. In total, it cost me about $75 to use Golloyds to exchange yen/send money to my PC Financial bank account in Canada.

With xe.com the only fee I pay is to UFJ Bank or JP Bank to make an international transfer. It costs me 800 yen with UFJ and about 500 yen with JP Bank.

That's it! The currency exchange rates of xe.com and Golloyds are very close, too. The only reason why I had to use Golloyds and not xe.com is because xe.com didn't give me enough information about the beneficiary bank in Tokyo. You see, they have a bank in Tokyo that a person transfers yen to. Then that bank converts the yen and transfers it to an individual's bank back home. I had tried to transfer the money through the JP Bank ATM but made a mistake and entered in some information incorrectly. For ATM transfers, a person needs to go through the Japanese menu because the English menu doesn't offer that functionality.

Look into both Golloyds and xe.com carefully!

natsume · Joined: 24 Apr 2006 Posts: 409 Location: Chongqing, China

I second xetrade. As my Japanese is nowhere close to the level needed to set it up myself I asked for the help of a couple of Japanese coworkers to walk me through it and to make a couple of phone calls for clarification, but if you can do this, it is so much cheaper than any other option. I think my in-country furikomi fee is around 700 yen, and I opt for an electronic funds transfer to my bank in the states, which is free.

One annoyance is that my bank likes to redesign their ATM furikomi menus every 8-9 months, but so far, it has not thrown me off. My bank (all Japanese banks?) offers a furikomi card, which greatly simplifies the transaction at the ATM.

nfairchild · Joined: 21 Oct 2008 Posts: 6

Hey guys,

I'm interested in transfering money back home and I am certainly more keen on using xetrade instead of go lloyds if it will save me money. I checked out the website for xetrade and I still don't understand how to set it up. My bank is smbc. What do I do exactly? I really appreciate your help.

Also, it seems easy just to send a money order. Is that possible? Does anyone know what that is called in Japanese?

Thanks so much!

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Go here for the info below (and more).
http://www.sendaiedu.com/sendingmoneyhome.html

Ryu Hayabusa · Joined: 08 Jan 2008 Posts: 182

@nfairchild

Yeah, it is surprisingly tough to find out where to sign up on the website. Unfortunately, using xetrade isn't any more intuitive but, the costs make it all worthwhile!

Go here to sign up http://www.xe.com/fx/

fat_chris · Joined: 10 Sep 2003 Posts: 3198 Location: Beijing

On that note, the US dollar is down to 92.57 Japanese yen. That's very nice for those of us sending yen to foreign bank accounts and converting yen to USD. I like this: another reason to stay put in Japan for a little while longer.

Regards,
fat_chris

desu · Joined: 14 Apr 2009 Posts: 38

Has anyone heard of or tried the Paypal service for sending money internationally? I suspect it might be even less expensive than XE

G Cthulhu · Posted: Sun Jul 12, 2009 4:18 pm Post subject:

Paypal rates are pretty awful. Even worse on occasion than US retail bank rates or Western Union rates.

passport220 · Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 117

When I was in Korea I converted won to American Express Traveler's Checks denominated in U.S. Dollars and mailed them to my bank.

Can I buy Traveler's checks from JP Post here in Japan?

G Cthulhu · Posted: Mon Jul 13, 2009 11:17 pm Post subject:

passport220 · Joined: 11 May 2005 Posts: 117

johnyuehan · Joined: 02 Nov 2006 Posts: 22 Location: rural Japan

OP - I run to the bank during my lunch hour to take care of banking needs; is a bank close enough to your work that you could do this?

I send travelers checks from Japan to the States every month, definitely prefer it to Lloyds - far cheaper in my case. My local Japanese bank has a decent exchange rate & charges just 1% for the checks (if $1 = Y100, the bank charges me Y1,000). I send the checks along with a deposit slip directly to my bank, writing on the 'Pay to' line: "Pay to the order of (bank name)". Check with your bank back home to confirm they'll let you do this - I use a smalltown bank. Total costs this way: Y1,000 for buying the checks, Y110 for a stamp. A few yen for an envelope. Yes it takes a bit of time going to the bank, signing my name on ever check, then sending it, then waiting about a week for the TCs to be deposited in my acct back home. But the savings are worth the hassle to me.

When I sent thru Lloyds, I had the Lloyds Y2,000 fee, plus my local (Japan) bank fees to send the money to Lloyds (about Y500), middlemen somewhere took $20, & my own smalltown bank took $10 for themselves. Total: about $55.

If you use a large bank back home, you may not be charged the $20 middleman & $10 local bank deposit fees like my smalltown bank charges me. In that case, Y2,500 to send money home & having it there quick might be a better option. My case of paying Y1,150 vs $55 to send the same amount of money make my choice easy - travelers checks of course. Give Lloyds or XE a try, check how much money arrives in your acct back home. If it's expensive, try TCs; choose the cheapest method.

desu · Joined: 14 Apr 2009 Posts: 38

So is there some kind of a consensus that XE is probably the cheapest way to go? I am nervous because I have a seperate loan with my University that I might have to start paying off soon after I arrive in Japan, yes well before even my first paycheck (off the money I bring with me if they don't accept a delayed payment plan).

I'll need to be able to set up something quickly that doesn't cost 50$ (which is insane to me) every time I transfer money. It looks like I will have to transfer money once or twice a month the whole time I am there.