Banking

[Chip]

Last week I was sent a letter by a Japanese credit union in my city asking me to come by and show them my Zairyu card. They wrote in the letter that they want to see my card so that they can confirm that I am not laundering money. Has anyone else had this happen to them?

[RetireJapan]

I have heard of banks checking zairyu cards to see how long people's visas are valid for (so they can close accounts of people who leave Japan) and My Number cards (to confirm identity).

[ricardo]

How would showing them your card prove that your not laundering money?!

I’ve only had this when opening accounts. Although one bank sent me an email which appeared to say that I had to go into a branch and show them my My Number card. When I went in, they were bemused, checked my records and said they didn’t need to see it....

[eyeswideshut]

I recently received a letter from Shinsei informing me that they will be increasing their scrutiny of source of funds for remittances from overseas. Maybe that is what you received? They also notified me that they are now charging exorbitant fees for such remittances (2000 JPY a pop). I would drop them in a second if it wasn't so painful to change all my automatic payments. Nothing about the Zairyuu Card but they have my MyNumber on file so maybe that is why. Shinsei used to be the best bank for foreigners and now they are among the worst.

Honestly, I have begun recommending my expat friends to keep their savings overseas. The banks here work for the government, not for their customers. The level of service I get from my Canadian and Singapore bank accounts is so much better.

[ricardo]

This goes back to a thread I started a few weeks ago.

There’s so much scrutiny and cost involved with bringing money into Japan that I wonder if it’s better to just use a cash card to withdraw the money from an ATM when you need it?

[jcc]

They also notified me that they are now charging exorbitant fees for such remittances (2000 JPY a pop).

Part of their campaign to make everyone get gold/platinum. The remittance charge is refunded in that case.

[eyeswideshut]

This goes back to a thread I started a few weeks ago.

There’s so much scrutiny and cost involved with bringing money into Japan that I wonder if it’s better to just use a cash card to withdraw the money from an ATM when you need it?

Agreed but their will be transaction costs for using overseas ATMs. You can also use overseas credit cards here for purchases. If I maintain JPY in my overseas accounts then there is no charge for currency conversion and many cards offer no-charge international purchasing now. So this is a good cost free alternative.

I know this is Japan's ham-fisted way of trying to catch tax-cheats but it just pisses off everyone who wants to move money to Japan. They should be thanking me for wanting to bring my money here, not hassling me with questions and delaying the transaction. Transfers from my Singapore account to my Canadian account are free and instantaneous. Now that is good customer service.

[eyeswideshut]

They also notified me that they are now charging exorbitant fees for such remittances (2000 JPY a pop).

Part of their campaign to make everyone get gold/platinum. The remittance charge is refunded in that case.

Yeah, I saw that gold gets one free transfer a month. Not sure what platinum gets. Still, the service charges are borderline criminal and will disproportionately affect lower income foreigners who need to access overseas cash for whatever reason.