RetireJapan

Hi all. I have an SMBC (not Prestia) bank account where my salary goes into, and a Rakuten bank account which is currently unused. Up till now all of my 'spare' money has been going into Rakuten Securities for investment in 投資信託　and the likes, but now I have my goals set to purchasing a house I know I need to start saving up cash as well. I find it very difficult knowing how much of the cash in my bank account is 'usable' (since a lot of it comes out for direct debits and credit card payments), so I've decided to start budgeting in the form of transferring a specific amount out of my account every month after my salary gets paid into a savings account.

Question though, do these even exist in Japan? The closest I can find on my SMBC page is the following: 普通預金口座の開設 which gives an option of opening either a 普通（総合）or 普通 with no explanation of the differences. It is also looks like I can only create one which is okay but less than ideal (I'd like an account for each thing I'm saving up for). I also can't find any details on whether these are proper savings accounts in that I lose interest if I take out early, etc etc. I can't seem to find anything on Rakuten.

So essentially, I have zero idea how these work in Japan so if anyone has any idea please do share!

SBI Netbank has the facility to create up to 10 separate accounts which you can name for different purposes

https://www.netbk.co.jp/contents/lineup/purpose/

Might help with clearing things up don’t think the interest rates are any better

Use software to manage your budget, not accounts. That way your budget is not tied to a specific company (except maybe the company that makes the software).

I have an SMBC account too, but I also have an SBI Netbank one now, to which I switched to receive salary (and have my mortgage with them).

Depending on how much business you do with them, they give x free transfers per month. I use those and set up automatic transfers each month to pay here and there.

It is sometimes useful to have an account with an SMBC or MUFJ, but for regular needs I find the SBI netbank offers much better services. I imagine Sony bank and others must be similar.

Prestia: If you open an account and a Multi-Money Account, the Multi-Money Account also has a JPY Account so that you can transfer your money from the Futsu Account to the Multi-Money Account and when ready, purchase foreign currencies... But I leave Money in the Multi-Money JPY account so that it is not accessible at the ATM... Transfers between accounts are free, and if you keep more than the minimum required balance, there is no Account Management Fee...