Best bank for transferring money abroad?

Living In Tokyo
1

I’m looking to open a new bank account, and need to transfer money home but have limited Japanese. Are there any banks that are known for having better rates or plans/deals for transferring? I’ve only used a small prefectural bank until now and had to use Goremit but it was quite expensive. Thanks :slight_smile:

2

I think Shinsei is still the best option with the lowest fees, (possibly in combination with OFX as per this TC article for better rates).

@CheapoGreg might have some more recent experience…

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3

@Lily.Baxter Check out Seven Bank. They have lower fees than GoRemit (1,500yen per transfer) and AFAIK you don’t need to transfer to a different bank so you save another 300 yen for the transfer. I did a simulation using their tool a little while back and the exchange rate also seemed to be better than GoRemit.

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4

For years I used Japanese banks, but always had to pay what seemed an expensive fee at the time to send money or exchange currency. Presently I use Citibank whose name has changed to Prestia - SMBC Trust Bank. I am a Gold member, so fees are often waived. Give them a call and compare them with your local Japanese bank is an option.

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@ Lily.Baxter Have you tried Brastel Remit? Check them out as well.They have good rates compared to most of the banks… and there are English speaking staff quite often at there branches and more multilingual staff are with them. its a very simple process.I have used it so many times to transfer money out of japan to many countries in Europe, Far East and Asian countries.

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6

So far I am using the below with varying degrees of success:

• Shinsei Power Direct account for my bank account. A positive point is, it comes with multi currency account. Meaning, you can bring money into Japan in whatever currency and convert it to ¥ when the rate is good for you.

Transferring out of Japan:
• Combination of PayPal accounts, WU, and xe.com.

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7

I used transferwise few times, at the time it gave me the best rates across few other banks

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8

Can I use goremit to transfer money through in-person transference? I’ve lost my pincode and I need to transfer money internationally. Would that be possible? The only difference is its a written transfer, thanks let me know!

9

You probably need to give Goremit a call and ask. The system with all these transfer companies is that you transfer to a common account attaching a code so that they know who it’s from and where to send it. Many, many years ago (I don’t use Goremit anymore - there are better alternatives) I forgot to put my code in when I sent the money but they just called me and confirmed that it was me who sent the money. Even if you don’t send the 4 digit code, they can still see which account the transfer came from.
Anyway, give them a call is probably the best idea.

10

I went to OFX via the link at “this TC article” mentioned – and could not register: embarrassingly they do not know such a country as Japan, despite they know ~100 others. How exactly do I use OFX for transfers (as I cannot even register, they don’t recognize my country of residence).
Thanks.

11

That article is more for transferring money INto Japan. OFX is not very good for transferring money out of Japan because they don’t have a local operation. You have to transfer the money to the US first before it is transferred somewhere else, which defeats the purpose!