Transfering money to Japan

Even with the crappy exchange rate, I need to transfer a 6 months living amount of money from the UK to Japan. What are the easiest / cheapest / best options to do so?

 

On the Japanese end, you definitely want to have a Citibank or Shinsei bank account.

You can save the money in GBP and pull it out as you deem necessary. Doesn't necessarily mean it'll be better then, obviously, but you can at least hope it is. There is no charge to receieve the money, nor leave it in GBP.

You can change it at a much cheaper rate than usual as well. Citi charges me 1 yen per $1 USD. I think it's also 1 yen per 1GBP but don't hold me to that. Shinsei charges less, but I run my entire business through there, so it's like my salary x 4 going through there every year. Hence, I get a discount rate.

Shouldn't cost you more than 30GBP to actually send it. Maybe even cheaper. Citi to Citi is sometimes the cheapest, but I'll be honest: Shinsei is better. Web interface is better, and far more intuitive. Assuming you can actually figure out how the fuck to change the money at Citibank, if you forget to change some to yen until the weekend, you're SOL until Monday morning. Shinsei you can change it and get it out of an ATM 24/7.

 

Isn't it hard for a foreigner to set up a bank account in Japan?

Jamtex, have you talked to your bank to see what options they offer? If you're with someone like HSBC, they have branches everywhere. I had no problems getting USD out of my UK account in New York. I would imagine an Asian bank would have branches in Japan! The rates you get might suck a bit, but it would be good as a start, perhaps.

 

If you have a visa, it's a piece of cake. Just like a Japanese person, I have like 5 bank accounts. If you do not have a visa, it is impossible to do it legally.

 

I hate Paypal as much as the next guy, but they just launched a branch here in Japan recently. I used it to send some cash back to the US. It proved cheaper than a bank transfer or money orders through the post office.

 

What did you send, like $50? At 3.9% for international rates plus 2.8% FX fees, you're looking at a lot of dough. If you send $1000, that's $60. The OP is likely going to be sending, I would guess, $20,000 or so. Paypal = no bueno.

 

As I don't have anything more then a tourist visa at the moment, opening a bank account at the moment is a no-no. My girlfriend offered one of her accounts but I was worried that the tax office might ask why she has Y2,500,000 in her account.

So what I am going to do is go back to the UK withdraw the money in cash and just bring it with me.

 

Did you not have a proper visa/bank account before? Never shut those things. I closed down my Citi account when I left the firrst time, which was fucking stupid. Kept my Japan Net account though, thankfully.

Yes, your gal might get audited, but if she's a seishain somewhere, it's unlikely.

 

2.5 million Yen? Ouch!

You're also limited to how much cash you can through customs. I think they'd have a field day if you took 20 grand with you! I guess you mean you'd take it as traveller's cheques as that would be somewhat more secure, but I think you might possibly still have problems. You'll probably need to declare it - check the limit over which you have to declare.

Have a word with your bank, or try HSBC. They may well do accounts in Yen - I know HSBC do Dollar and Euro accounts. Or as Kev suggested, try Citibank. I would strongly suggest talking to the Japanese Embassy (or the British Embassy if you're in Japan) and asking their advice. They'll know what you can and can't do.

 

I'm sure they do, but it doesn't matter. Those are different entities than the ones in Japan. They follow an entirely different set of regulations. No visa = no bank account in Japan. No exception.

The only thing I see bad about carrying in 2 million (in cash or traveller's cheques) is that they're going to ask why the fuck you have so much money if you're only coming for the maximum 3-month tourist visa. They could very well have a hay day with you and send you back to jolly old England.

 

There's a limit over which you have to declare it, and I don't know what they do - if they charge/tax you for that. The limit is apparently often 10,000 in local currency - obviously that won't apply for Yen!

My point was that he could get an account here, legally, in Yen. That account can be used for paying someone in Yen. At worst, he could transfer money into his girlfriend's account online and have her withdraw it. At best, there'll be an HSBC branch where he is in Japan and he'll be able to withdraw money directly from it. That said, he could do the same with a normal HSBC UK account, they'd just charge a stupid conversion rate + fee. He would then have a bank account located in the UK, in Yen, that he could use in Japan.

 

Last time I entered I'm pretty sure I remember reading a question if you have over 100.000Â¥ on you.. If you answer yes, you will get questions. Hell I even got questions for ''only'' carrying 10.000 on me..

 

You can take up to 1,000,000 yen into the country without having to declare it to Customs, although you have to declare any ammount for immigration.

I've taken 500,000 into Japan without too much hassle, as if you are there for 3 months then you might need some money to live on.

Despite me living in Japan for well over 2 years on and off in the last 6 years, it's always been for 90 days or less at a time so I've always had a tourist visa and I've never had any hassle from immigration but it means no gaijin card and no way of opening a bank account.

 

And puts him back to square one. Yen in the UK is going to get him dick in Japan. He needs the money here -- the currency is neither here nor there, it's where the money's domicile is that's the issue. My nut is in USD, but it's in a mutli currency account here. To get it to the US, I have to pay international xfer fees.

There's not. That "branch" is another company, they simply share the same title. You can pull money out of an ATM from a foreign account, but you get raped on the exchange rate. He will also be subject to the limits put on by his UK bank which are most likely a fraction of the Japanese limit of 1 million yen withdrawal from ATM.

 

Wasn't the point that he wants access to the money over the course of 6 months? Having it in a UK bank account is a solution to that. He'll be able to withdraw enough in one go, still. How does he get it there, then? Western Union? Raped by fees. PayPal? UBER raped. Bank transfer? He can't. Cash? Stopped by customs, risk having it seized if they suspect it is being used for illegal purposes (smuggling etc.) PLUS he has to get the cash in the UK and guess what? Banks here rape you on the conversion charge.

Yes there will be fees REGARDLESS. Unless he can find a Japanese businessman who wants to get Pounds Sterling at the going rate without paying fees.

http://www.hsbc.co.jp/1/2/home
http://www.hsbc.co.uk/1/2/

And the same logo. And the same slogan. Seems to me it's the same company - that's because IT IS! YES the accounts are different. YES there will be conversion fees. So what? It isn't like he isn't going to get them anyway. It is his money in a safe place, and it is convenient. Hell, if he has a UK HSBC account, there will be NO charges. I know that places like Citibank charge for the accounts. Don't some Japanese banks charge, too? Not that it's relevant as he can't have an account there.

I still say the best thing for him to do is talk to the embassy. It seems they'll be the only ones who can say to him, "Look, you can take x Yen into the country in cash. Here's what I would do..."

 

I don't really see the problem with just using your UK bank card in Japan, before I came here I got my bank account switched around to some international package so no fee's when I take out money(normally €1,50) except for fluctuating courses ofcourse, but since the yen is so strong now might be better to wait a bit anyway.

 

I sent $500 to the US. And for that amount it's still cheaper than a bank transfer or post office. I didn't notice the "6-months living expenses" part though, so yeah Paypal is definitely out in this case. :banghead:

For what it's worth, my old room mate was pretty happy with HSBC. He regularly transfered money between Japan and the UK. Never really looked into it myself though.

 

Actually he wanted to transfer 6-months worth of living costs. Big difference.

This is still not illegal, and is the cheapest method. I wouldn't want people knowing my business though.

Trust me, they are not. This is a country where you cannot pull money out of any other branch than the one you reigstered at in the event you lose your card/bank book. Trust me, I know from first hand experience. It's the same w/ any other bank. Citi, Shinsei, etc. etc. They share the name, but they are governed by entirely separate sets of rules. They are not the same company. This is coming from someone that has spent a large chunk of his professional life in Japanese branches of foriegn firms (US & UK alike).

So do you make it a habit of paying the most for something?

These are a dime a dozen, actually. I do FX trades with people that have yen and need foreign currency all the time. They're not Japanese though.

The best rate he'll get is w/ a JP account. They have competitive rates, but no better than Shinsei or Citi: Click Me. I actually get a better rate at Shinsei b/c I have a huge cock. If you're referring to him having a UK account holding yen and pulling yen out of an ATM, you should triple check that. Most places (and I'll go out on a limb and say HSBC as well) force you to withdraw money out of your main currency (GBP in this case). I cannot pull money out of my Multi Currency Citi or Shinsei account in that currency's respective country. It always comes out in yen.

Don't use logic and reasoning. It doesn't work like that. Let my 10 years of fucking w/ this shit save you some time and hair.

 

Well, I went to New York and withdrew cash from my UK HSBC account in US Dollars. Granted, that's not Japan, but my bank let me take out money in foreign currency, is what I'm saying.

HSBC have had adverts for the past six years talking about their expertise with dealing with money overseas, the slogan being "the World's local bank". They specifically mention Japan in some of these:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JK_NinOmFWw

Now, why would they mention a company where you can't bank?

Looking into things more, apparently you should be able to withdraw money at a Japan Post, 7/11 or Citigroup ATM.

If he hasn't got a Visa, then he can't get an account there - you said that yourself. So what's he supposed to do? Unless he fancies looking after that much cash for six months, his best bet would be a foreign account that he can withdraw money from, surely? Even if he can only withdraw £250 a day and they charge him £2 a go, that's still over 30,000 Yen a day. And 2.5 million Yen would mean what, 75 withdrawals? That means withdrawing every 2 or 3 days. £250 should last 2 or 3 days, surely? At £2 a go, that's £150 - sure, that's a lot but it is still a lot less that, say, PayPal, I'd reckon!!

*EDIT*

Note the date that is on my statement. Now go here:

http://fxtop.com/en/cnvhisto.php3

Note that I got 1.8441 as a conversion rate. I think that's damn reasonable!