Wire? International money order?

[soulkraka]

hey all

a friend back home (US) wants to send me some money ( ). What do you reckon is the best way to do this, being that time is NOT of the essence ie: I dont need to be bailed out of trouble or anything

international money order? wire?

[oyajikun]

Western Union works but it's not cheap.

http://www.westernunion.com/info/homePage.asp?country=JP

[FG Lurker]

hey all

a friend back home (US) wants to send me some money ( ). What do you reckon is the best way to do this, being that time is NOT of the essence ie: I dont need to be bailed out of trouble or anything

international money order? wire?

Of your two choices I would have to say wire. You will have problems trying to cash anything paper-based here, and will incur large expenses to do it.

The best thing would be to have your friend deposit the cash into your bank at home. You can then withdraw the cash from an international-supporting ATM here. You'll find such ATMs at major hotels that cater to international travelers.

[soulkraka]

TX FG.

Would I be correct in assuming that the currency I withdraw at one of these "international ATMs" will be Yen?

[FG Lurker]

TX FG.

Would I be correct in assuming that the currency I withdraw at one of these "international ATMs" will be Yen?

Yes, it will come out as yen. There will be a service charge from your bank for withdrawals (how much will completely depend on your bank), and you will likely have a limit on how much you can take out per day for security reasons.

With that in mind if the sum of cash is large enough (several thousand $) then a wire would make more sense. If it's a couple hundred bucks (up to a thousand or so) then the ATM-way is likely the best route. Also depends on how far you are from an ATM that will take your non-Japanese card!

[American Oyaji]

Well..

They can wire it from THEIR bank directly into YOUR bank account provided it isn't too large an amount. If it's too much then the tax man is gonna try and take his cut (Talking about amounts in the $10,000 and up)

It costs about $40 dollars to do so, no matter what the amount is.

[GomiGirl]

These days I always use the ATM withdrawal method.. it is safe believe me (sorry - I couldn't resist)

The rates from these are much better than exchanging money at the airport where the rates are terrible and the fees are high. Even with the flat fee charge per withdrawal it is much more economical to do it this way when travelling - travellers cheques are not needed. I just take money straight from my japanese bank account. My bank uses the "PLUS" system so I just have to use and ATM with the "PLUS" symbol anywhere in the world and I get local currency.

When sending money back home to my own account, I have set up a Go Lloyds account. It is overnight and costs a flat fee of Y2,000.

Do the bank transfer before 3pm and it will be in your account the next day in the other country. Go Lloyds

[soulkraka]

thanks for the info folks

[karekora]

ive used western union, a friend send me money from the UK when i first got here cos my bank card went AWOL. tis true its not cheap, but its quick and clean. however, theres only one western union place in tokyo - much to the annoyance of a guy in Ibaraki whom I met there, who had to come all the way to tokyo to pick up and send his money home.

i cant recommend Lloyds. Ive had problems with them. Basically I think its a malfunctioning bank. I wouldnt trust them with my money.