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Pitarou
Joined: 16 Nov 2009
Posts: 1116
Location: Narita, Japan
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 Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2010 5:00 am Post subject: Recommended Bank Accounts? |
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Back in the UK it was so simple. Just get a "basic" bank account with on-line facilities and keep it in credit. Withdrawals, deposits and transfers were all free, and I could use pretty much any ATM 24/7.
Here in Japan, it's a real headache. To minimise my banking charges it looks like I'm going to need three accounts:- An account at the bank my employer uses (unless my employer is willing to swallow the interbank transfer charges ... which I doubt)
- An account for normal day-to-day banking. One with ATMs in my neighbourhood, near Narita.
- An account to minimise my charges for sending money back to the UK. It also looks like I'm going to be carrying bundles of cash from one ATM to another. Sounds like a dumb thing to do, but I'm told it's common practice here.
Does anyone have any recommendations? Oh ... and which bank does Shane use for paying salaries? |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2010 5:12 am Post subject: |
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Don't send money home via bank transfer. Too expensive.
Use the Post Office or Go Lloyds. |
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Pitarou
Joined: 16 Nov 2009
Posts: 1116
Location: Narita, Japan
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| Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2010 5:16 am Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
Don't send money home via bank transfer. Too expensive.
Use the Post Office or Go Lloyds. |
Thanks, Glenski.
What about opening an account with a bank that lets you use your debit card with ATMs abroad? Then I can send the debit card to someone I trust. |
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natsume
Joined: 24 Apr 2006
Posts: 409
Location: Chongqing, China
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| Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2010 6:44 am Post subject: |
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I don't see why the bank your employer uses would not be also OK for day to day banking?
I use xetrade to get money to my account in the states. Incredibly easy to use, haven't had a problem in two and a half years, and their customer service is very good. It is the cheapest option I know of. (Although very easy to use, it is a bit of a headache to set up, and you may need a native Japanese speaker to help with your employers bank.)
http://www.xe.com/fx/
I make the trade online, go to my bank ATM and do furikomi transfer for around ￥650 which goes to a partner bank in Tokyo and then to xe in Canada, and from there to my bank in California via a free electronic fund trasfer.
So, ￥650. (And probably a slightly below the best exchange rate.)
Of course, this won't work if you no longer have your UK account, but I am assuming you do. |
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Pitarou
Joined: 16 Nov 2009
Posts: 1116
Location: Narita, Japan
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| Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2010 7:37 am Post subject: |
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| natsume wrote: |
| I don't see why the bank your employer uses would not be also OK for day to day banking? |
If the bank my employer uses has an ATM in my neighbourhood then there's no problem. If they don't, then I'll have to use someone else's ATM and incur transaction charges every time.
| natsume wrote: |
I use xetrade to get money to my account in the states. Incredibly easy to use, haven't had a problem in two and a half years, and their customer service is very good. It is the cheapest option I know of. (Although very easy to use, it is a bit of a headache to set up, and you may need a native Japanese speaker to help with your employers bank.)
http://www.xe.com/fx/
I make the trade online, go to my bank ATM and do furikomi transfer for around �650 which goes to a partner bank in Tokyo and then to xe in Canada, and from there to my bank in California via a free electronic fund trasfer.
So, �650. (And probably a slightly below the best exchange rate.) |
Am I right in thinking that �650 is the charge your bank makes for sending money to xe's bank? If that's the case, and if their "guarantee to beat every posted bank rate on every transaction" is as good as it sounds then that really does seem like a good deal.
Thanks! |
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natsume
Joined: 24 Apr 2006
Posts: 409
Location: Chongqing, China
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| Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2010 8:03 am Post subject: |
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| Pitarou wrote: |
Am I right in thinking that �650 is the charge your bank makes for sending money to xe's bank?
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Yes. And then I opt for xe to deliver the funds to my bank as an EFT (electronic fund transfer), which is free, but not automatic, rather than wired, which gets a charge. There is a lag of a couple days, or a few more depending on holidays on both sides. I'd say on average it takes about 48-72 hours to post to my account in California after I send it via ATM.
Be aware that the furikomi process will most likely not be in English at your ATM. I had a Japanese person walk me through it and took notes, which I typed up for myself and referred to until I got the hang of it. You will want a furikomi card as well, which will just be used when making this specific transaction every month or however often you do it. The ATM itself can issue this.
A headache, but piece of cake once you get it. Might as well get used to doing things the Japanese way, in Japanese, asap. |
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Pitarou
Joined: 16 Nov 2009
Posts: 1116
Location: Narita, Japan
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| Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2010 3:57 pm Post subject: |
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| natsume wrote: |
Be aware that the furikomi process will most likely not be in English at your ATM. I had a Japanese person walk me through it and took notes, which I typed up for myself and referred to until I got the hang of it.
... Might as well get used to doing things the Japanese way, in Japanese, asap. |
I'm working on it! The trouble is, my Japanese helper is already running out of patience and I've barely mastered sending an e-mail from my keitai.
But seriously, thanks. That's a big help. |
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seklarwia
Joined: 20 Jan 2009
Posts: 1546
Location: Monkey onsen, Nagano
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| Posted: Fri Apr 02, 2010 10:26 pm Post subject: |
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| Pitarou wrote: |
If the bank my employer uses has an ATM in my neighbourhood then there's no problem. If they don't, then I'll have to use someone else's ATM and incur transaction charges every time. |
I've used my PO bank card in a few different ATMs not belonging to them. Only once did it not work (I forget the name of the bank, but it was green and I've only seen them in Tokyo) and only privately owned convenience store ATMs have ever charged me (but they charge everyone). I did go to a store that had an HSBC ATM in a back street of Akihabara and that didn't charge (and to my father's surprise actually accepted Maestro, too).
I don't know whether banks often charge if you use other bank's ATMs though. |
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Ryu Hayabusa
Joined: 08 Jan 2008
Posts: 182
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| Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2010 1:38 am Post subject: |
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| I've barely mastered sending an e-mail from my keitai. |
Doesn't your cell phone have an option to switch the language over to English? That would help you get the most out of it until your Japanese gets good enough for you to switch it back over to Japanese. |
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Pitarou
Joined: 16 Nov 2009
Posts: 1116
Location: Narita, Japan
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| Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2010 3:26 am Post subject: |
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| Ryu Hayabusa wrote: |
| Pitarou wrote: |
| I've barely mastered sending an e-mail from my keitai. |
Doesn't your cell phone have an option to switch the language over to English? That would help you get the most out of it until your Japanese gets good enough for you to switch it back over to Japanese. |
No, it doesn't. I can hardly complain, though. For �1080 / month I get free e-mails, free calls to the missus and cheaper calls than on any other network. It's a shame that the service provider is going bankrupt.... |
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Pitarou
Joined: 16 Nov 2009
Posts: 1116
Location: Narita, Japan
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| Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2010 3:36 am Post subject: |
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| seklarwia wrote: |
| Pitarou wrote: |
| If the bank my employer uses has an ATM in my neighbourhood then there's no problem. If they don't, then I'll have to use someone else's ATM and incur transaction charges every time. |
I've used my PO bank card in a few different ATMs not belonging to them. Only once did it not work (I forget the name of the bank, but it was green and I've only seen them in Tokyo) and only privately owned convenience store ATMs have ever charged me (but they charge everyone). I did go to a store that had an HSBC ATM in a back street of Akihabara and that didn't charge (and to my father's surprise actually accepted Maestro, too). |
Yeah, I was thinking of doing something like that: get an account with the same bank as my employer and another account with a bank that's convenient for me, and transfer money from the former to the latter every month.
Incidentally, I believe that Shinsei Bank customers can use the 7-11 ATMs for free.
| seklarwia wrote: |
| I don't know whether banks often charge if you use other bank's ATMs though. |
I'm told that they usually do. |
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kinshachi
Joined: 06 Sep 2006
Posts: 50
Location: Sydney
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| Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2010 7:41 am Post subject: |
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| Pitarou wrote: |
| Incidentally, I believe that Shinsei Bank customers can use the 7-11 ATMs for free. |
That's true, plus they have online banking in English. I've been quite happy with them. The only disadvantage is they don't have a lot of branches if you need to visit the bank itself, but between using 7-11's and the online banking, it hasn't been a big problem. |
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Bread
Joined: 24 May 2009
Posts: 318
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| Posted: Sat Apr 03, 2010 10:16 am Post subject: |
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| My new employer has said that I should get a Post Office savings account to receive pay transfers. If I stick with my current bank for transfers, how much is the charge likely to be each month? I'm sure it varies, just a ballpark. |
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mushroomyakuza
Joined: 17 Sep 2009
Posts: 140
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| Posted: Sun Apr 04, 2010 11:11 am Post subject: |
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Just a brief shoutout - I've had problems finding ATMs where I can access my money in the UK - pending my gaijin card - but I've had success with Citibank and I'm told Shinsei bank also works.
As for who to go with out here, Shane generally endorse SMBC - though they say it's your call. Apparently SMBC and the other big one (forget the name) charge you a small amount to withdraw at certain times though, whereas Shinsei bank apparently don't. |
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lenoreelux
Joined: 30 Nov 2009
Posts: 44
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| Posted: Sun Apr 04, 2010 11:57 am Post subject: |
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| I just opened my account at the JP post.. I can withdraw money from my US bank account form the ATM and just deposit it into my JP Post account. I do not get charged ATM fees form my bank in the US. Also, I do not see any charges when I withdraw from the JP account. So far anyways. |
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