Personal Finance for Residents of Japan
https://retirejapan.com/forum/
Why would you transfer money to Wise and keep it there? My transfers from the UK go into my Wise GBP a/c, I transfer them immediately to my Wise JPY a/c then transfer out to my J bank. Similarly v.v.Deep Blue wrote: ↑Tue Jun 06, 2023 12:49 am The main issues with WISE for Japan residents are that the maximum balance of all currencies can not exceed 1 million yen. So if you have more than 6000 pounds in the UK, putting it in Wise would more than max you out.
Also, it might be a sticking point for some that Wise's UK bank accounts are not covered by the FSCS (which guarentees all deposits up to 85,000 GBP). But since your losses are limited to 1 million yen, maybe it is not something to worry about.
https://wise.com/help/articles/3GBSRou4 ... e-in-japan
The use case being discussed was Wise as a UK current account. As a conduit for transferring small sums cheaply I agree it is a good option.banders wrote: ↑Thu Jun 08, 2023 3:50 amWhy would you transfer money to Wise and keep it there? My transfers from the UK go into my Wise GBP a/c, I transfer them immediately to my Wise JPY a/c then transfer out to my J bank. Similarly v.v.Deep Blue wrote: ↑Tue Jun 06, 2023 12:49 am The main issues with WISE for Japan residents are that the maximum balance of all currencies can not exceed 1 million yen. So if you have more than 6000 pounds in the UK, putting it in Wise would more than max you out.
Also, it might be a sticking point for some that Wise's UK bank accounts are not covered by the FSCS (which guarentees all deposits up to 85,000 GBP). But since your losses are limited to 1 million yen, maybe it is not something to worry about.
https://wise.com/help/articles/3GBSRou4 ... e-in-japan
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Looking forward to your NS & I application process story. I have heard that non-residents can still save with them and the interest rates are quite competitive. Better than most high street banks.Del wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 4:41 am Following us receiving the account closure notification from Barclays and with info gleaned on this forum ( thank you all including @RetireJapan for this resource ), we made an impromptu trip to the UK to open a HSBC account using our Japanese address. Process took over an hour. Documentation used are as follows:
Recent Barclays Bank statements with Japanese address ( changed 3 yrs ago ! ) Suggest printed from a Barclays Bank branch and stamped if possible.
Japanese IDP International Driver’s Permit ( This also has your Japanese address in English )
Passports ( Wedding certificate taken due to the unusual naming convention used in my wife’s Japanese passport - maiden name followed by married surname in brackets
Letter from Barclays regarding forthcoming account closure.
MyNumber Card for tax identification purpose as UK non-resident ( They had difficulty inputting this number but eventually resolved it: no spaces )
Proof of income ( in our case current pension payments to Barclays listed on bank statements )
Bank accounts with No Lending opened (suits our current needs). Debit cards to be sent to our Japanese home address.
Suggest making an appointment with a full service HSBC UK branch and be prepared.
Next NS&I for savings.
Del
May I ask what you will use the bank account for?Del wrote: ↑Wed Jun 21, 2023 4:41 am Following us receiving the account closure notification from Barclays and with info gleaned on this forum ( thank you all including @RetireJapan for this resource ), we made an impromptu trip to the UK to open a HSBC account using our Japanese address. Process took over an hour. Documentation used are as follows: