RetireJapan

Made my first zero commission remittance from SBI Shinsei to my Firstrade account this week.

Getting the 1 free overseas remittance per month status required several steps:

1. Opening an SBI Shinsei Bank account
2. Linking the account to my SBI Securities account via SBI Connect in order to achieve 'Diamond' status at the bank
3. Submitting documents via the camera on the Go Remit app to i) prove where the funds originated (ie. 3 months account history from my Sony Bank USD account which is where I sent the funds to SBI Shinsei from), and ii) prove that the destination account was my investment account (ie. the wire instruction for funding my account, from the Firstrade website)
4. Entering the remittance request on the Go Remit app

After I did that, the remittance went through to Firstrade overnight, and I had an email from Firstrade this morning, confirming receipt.
I was pleased to see that no deductions were made by any correspondence banks either, so the full amount was transferred without any charge whatsoever.

P.S. Oh yeah, I closed my Prestia account this week too, since there was no longer anything that it could do for me that other banks couldn't do better...

None in the years since i retired, but previously, Shinsei > US broker was free with the right status. Monthly, as you say, but mine were 2-3 times/year. I had pre-registered the destination account and could then do the transfer with a phone call. (the world before apps... )

Never any intermediary fees or on receipt. Not sure how true it is, but I've read a comment or two that this is since shinsei was previously LTCB, and it retained those direct connections to world/US banking.

There was transferwise then, but I never had reason to try it. No Sony bank then, either.

captainspoke wrote: ↑Fri Dec 13, 2024 7:14 am None in the years since i retired, but previously, Shinsei > US broker was free with the right status. Monthly, as you say, but mine were 2-3 times/year. I had pre-registered the destination account and could then do the transfer with a phone call. (the world before apps... )

Never any intermediary fees or on receipt. Not sure how true it is, but I've read a comment or two that this is since shinsei was previously LTCB, and it retained those direct connections to world/US banking.

There was transferwise then, but I never had reason to try it. No Sony bank then, either.

Ah that LTCB provenance might explain it. For a ‘new’ bank I am quite impressed by how SBI Shinsei Bank continues to punch above its weight.