Foreign currency bank account in Japan ?

[Maciamo]

Does anyone know if it's possible to have a bank account in US$, Euro or other currency in Japan. I don't think any Japanese bank do that. I've checked the Citibank website, but it says that it's only for time deposit and in different curencies (we can't really choose, it's more like buying bonds or stocks than a bank account, as it seems). I'd like an account that allows me to make payment and withdraw anytime I want. Do any of you have such an account ?

[Steve Bildermann]

I can make some suggestions but perhaps if you could tell us what you are trying to do with such an account then we might have some better ideas.

[Maciamo]

This account would mainly be for savings. As US$, Euro and Yen fluctuate all the time, I'd like to keep a bank account in each of these currencies and change my yen into US$ or Euro in function of the exchange rate. Maybe it's easier to open an account in the US, but I am not American, so I don't know if that's possible and if I can open it from the Internet then transfer the money from Japan, like in Europe. In Japan, one needs to have a valid visa (1 year or above) and gaikokujin torokusho to open a bank account. How do international companies or investors do if they want to keep accounts in different currencies ? In Europe, it's perfectly possible to open a bank account without having set foot in Europe at all. How is it in the US ? Would I get higher interest rate with a US$ or Euro account in Japan than if it were in yen (i.e almost 0% interest) ?

[Steve Bildermann]

[kotatsuneko]

from memory ufj bank lets you have an account with foreign money but your cash is dependant on the exchange rate

so if i put say 2k in, after a year if the exchange rate is shitty i would lose money..

imho the exchange rate here is worse than in london, the day we flew out the rate was 190 to the pound, on arriving, it was 183 at hokkaido bank, minus their charges.. luckilly i had work sorted already, but imho its way better to exchange cash b4 coming here... ah when the rate was 233/5 .. it seems so long ago!

[vvx]

Now in my case. I have my US, UK and Japan bank accounts registered with Paypal and when the rate changes enough to cover the not so onerous fees I move money from one to the other.

Transfer money in from whatever accounts and "withdrawl" to whichever you want to transfer to? How much are the fees for that operation?

[GomiGirl]

Now in my case. I have my US, UK and Japan bank accounts registered with Paypal and when the rate changes enough to cover the not so onerous fees I move money from one to the other.

Transfer money in from whatever accounts and "withdrawl" to whichever you want to transfer to? How much are the fees for that operation?

To switch between currencies there is no charge but you do have to live with their exchange rate which is the daily rates less a bit.

When withdrawing into a US bank account I think that it is free (don't quote me) but when remitting to a Japanese bank the cost is about $6-$7 and if you are changing currencies you will lose a few points on the exchange rate. Go to http://www.paypal.com for more details.

I use it all the time for overseas transactions - people who only want to buy one CD and TT is cost prohibative. I rarely remit money back as I try to use the money to buy other things like books or software for the office.

As a small Japanese company, the merchant fees for offering credit facilities for overseas credit cards is outrageous and adds 20% to my costs. So paypal works out at less than 5% for small transactions so easy to manage.

[vvx]

Seems like a fantastic steal for people in Japan for only a couple years with expenses still in the US. Get a paypal account, keep your US bank account, get a japanese bank account, add to your paypal account, add funs via Japan account, withdraw via US account, pay bills. Even if they're not offering the best exchange rates, you'd still be making off with a steal as compared to wire transfers, eh?

[GomiGirl]

You can only add funds via credit card or from selling something to somebody. You will get hit with fees at both ends so it is not really a good way of transferring cash. You are better off with a merchant bank or something similar.

Steve Bildermann is our resident expert on transferring funds so it is best that he answers this.