Banking in Japan, Sending Money

Foreigners in Japan (especially new arrivals to Japan) are understandably concerned about what to do with their hard-earned cash.

Unfortunately, there's no way to give you a clear set of guidelines on this one. It depends on your salary (dollars or yen), your long-term saving and accommodation plans, etc. But the following paragraphs should help make your decisions easier.

Opening an Account & Sending Money Overseas

Setting up an account

Setting up an account is relatively easy. Banks require a "GAIJIN card", which is officially called, "Certificate of Alien Registration". Some banks may ask to see your passport as well.

Hanko

Most Japanese use a HANKO (official seal) to open an account, but GAIJIN can get by with just a signature (at most banks, but not all).

Sending money overseas

There are a number of options available for sending money overseas. The fastest, of course, is by telegraphic transfer ("TT"), but you pay for the convenience- most banks charge either 2,500 or 4,500 yen per transfer (4,500 for urgent TTs) for most currencies.

Sending money through the Post Office

You can also send money through the Post Office via telegraphic transfer with fees ranging from 1,000 to 2,500 yen, depending on the amount (up to 1,000,000 yen- 500 yen for every additional 500,000 yen).

Checks

Warning: If you can avoid it, don't bring checks to Japan. Checks are not commonly used, and banks will charge heavy fees to cash them.

Interest Rates & Savings

Foreign Currency Savings Accounts

Most major Japanese banks now offer foreign currency savings accounts, though interest rates are generally somewhat lower than you would expect to get in your home countries. If you keep yen savings, expect to get paid nothing. For the past few years, the Bank of Japan has maintained a near-zero interest rate policy.

Keeping Yen at 0%

HOWEVER, depending on your home currency, you might have actually been better off over the past 2 years keeping yen at 0%. For instance, from April 1, 1998 to March 31, 2000, the yen GAINED 26.4% against the US dollar- far more than you would have made in interest from keeping dollars!

No Interest

The point here is this: don't expect to get any interest on yen deposits, but perhaps a greater concern is foreign exchange rate fluctuations- which brings us to our next point (see below).

Long-term Plans

Keep your Money at Home?

Many people suggest that you should "keep your money in your home currency". But, it's not quite that easy. Do you really know for sure what you will be doing/where you will be in a few years from now? Countless foreigners have come to Japan expecting to stay only a year or two and suddenly 10 years have gone by and they're still here!

World of Global Banking

Also, in today's world of global banking, the advantages of keeping your home currency simply for convenience are rapidly becoming obsolete. Case: If you had been an Australian keeping your savings in Aussie dollars for the past 5 years, you would have seen your savings plummet more than 30% against the US dollar and even more against the yen - ouch!

Keep a Multi-Currency Account?

Of course, the near-zero interest available on yen deposits might not seem very appealing either, but perhaps it would be best to keep a multi-currency account, accruing interest based on an average of the currency mix. For "global people" (like expats in Japan!) banking in only one currency represents a certain degree of risk - regardless of where you are now or plan on ending up in the world!

Banking in Japan, Sending Money from Japan: Other Sources

Forums

Questions/comments? Go to the Banking Forum

Currency Converter

Use GaijinPot's currency converter to convert sums from multiple currencies.

Domestic Banking Links

• Citibank Japan. Full banking services for expat. Walk-in, telephone, internet banking.
• Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ. Foreign exchange; dollar, euro, yen accounts available.

Offshore Banking Links

• Standard Chartered. Debit & credit cards, 560,000 VISA cash machines around the world.
• Bank of Bermuda. Banking, trust, fund administration, asset management services.