RetireJapan

Just applied for a Sony Bank account using their onboarding app (mainly just to check it out and see what it is like).

The process was pretty smooth. Didn't take the 20 minutes they said it would, more like 5. Predictably there was an issue with my double barreled surname so I ended up just typing in the first one. We'll see what they make of that.

I will report back here as events transpire

I needed to scan my zairyu card and health card, both front and back. They also wanted something with my name in katakana on, which I found strange as it is on my health card (so I just scanned that again).

I'd like to hear how the name thing works out (name on the account). My present accounts don't use my full name--they leave off the middle, which is on the ID you mention.

Katakana or romans would be fine, and last-first or first-last wouldn't matter. Just would like to keep it short and sweet.

Believe it or not, that is one of my motivations to naturalise

Well, wasn't expecting this:

"Welcome to Sony Bank's English online banking service!
We are pleased to inform you that we have completed procedures to open your account.
We will soon send your Sony Bank WALLET (Cash card with Visa Debit) and Token (One-time password generator) separately to your home address."

Seems they pulled the names off my ID, and went with 'surname surnamename'. Wonder how that is going to work out.

Just got my cash/debit card from Sony Bank. The name is an abomination, consisting of 2ndsurnamename surname in English, but I am mainly interested in it as an overseas cashcard, so meh.

Despite everything being in English so far, all the materials in the envelope (instructions/explanations etc.) are in Japanese.

RetireJapan wrote: ↑Sun Sep 27, 2020 2:35 am
Despite everything being in English so far, all the materials in the envelope (instructions/explanations etc.) are in Japanese.

Typical Japanese company!

OkiBum wrote: ↑Tue Sep 29, 2020 5:49 am

RetireJapan wrote: ↑Sun Sep 27, 2020 2:35 am
Despite everything being in English so far, all the materials in the envelope (instructions/explanations etc.) are in Japanese.

Typical Japanese company!

Normally I'd give them a pass, but the unique selling point for this account is that it is in English, so...

Bait and Switch.

Got so excited about Sony Bank, especially after reading this article:

https://japantoday.com/category/special ... s-in-Japan

The signup process was not so smooth for me. There is a signup app which in theory makes the process paperless, but you still have to fill out tedious paperwork in the end. I had to resend my application in twice, due to name and address issues.

Only after receiving the card and activating, did I discover that for iOS there are 2 apps: SonyBankWALLET and ソニー銀行. In short, SonyBankWALLET is basically for the Visa debit card, where you can monitor your transactions. ソニー銀行 is for monitoring account balance and trading currencies similar to Forex. The fact that there are 2 apps for what could have easily been in 1 app is annoying.

Both apps are 100% Japanese. No option to switch languages to English. After reviewing the website or marketing materials, I could not find any mention of the lack of English app support. Also, Sony's debit visa is NOT compatible with Apple Pay.

There is online chat support in English. There is no function to receive an emailed transcript of the chat, which is ubiquitous these days. So I have to copy the text into TextEdit and then export a PDF.

As Ben alluded to, there appears to be discrepancies on how a Western name is written. On my card, my name is written FirstnameMiddlename Lastname. So there is no space between my first and middle name. In all mail sent to me, my name is written in Katakana with the middle name omitted. My account suddenly stopped working with PayPay, and it seems like this is being caused by the middle name discrepancy. Sony Bank blames PayPay

I've tried reaching out to Ruth Marie Jarman, mentioned in the Japan Today article, with zero response. Probably a PR stunt and she's moved on to better projects.

Seconding most of what glimmer wrote.

As I went through the opening process recently, here is a small update:
They don't stick to the NHI card as means of KYC anymore, providing a Japanese driving licence is also accepted meanwhile.

NO change at all however on
- IT can't cope with First and middle name, making the card useless for many payment scenarios where the name has to match your ID docs;
- No English on either of the Apps - I wish they had just presented their product to any gaijin intern before launching;
- Also surprised that their genuine web interface seems to be outsourced to "moneykit" and doesn't even match their product colors.

In a nutshell - "All English Banking" needs to be thoroughly improved!