I wanted to mention some good Japanese banks for those looking:
SBI Net Bank: If you can read Japanese, this is one of the best UIs and mobile apps around. You also get a ton of free furikomi transfers per month (I think I have about 10)
Shinsei Bank: A physical bank but also offers online options with an English UI for those that need it. This seems to be the go-to recommended bank for expats.
Sony Bank: I have this bank specifically because all incoming international money transfers are free, meaning they don’t charge you any fees to receive it. SBI used to charge be about 2500 yen every time I received international payments, even in yen. Shinsei has a system where they reimburse you each month if you have a certain amount in your account, so international money transfers will eventually be almost free.
How about you? What banks have you been happy with?
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I’m very happy with SBI Shinsei Bank. Just by having your salary deposited each month you can reach the silver stage, which gives unlimited ATM withdrawals and three bank transfers for free each month.
Downside is that many things which can be done online with other banks (like adding payment method to a credit card) sometimes cannot be done online, so you’ll have to fill out the paperwork.
I have Sony bank too and am also happy.
Planning to close my Mizuho and Seven Bank accounts as I’m not happy with what they offer.
Appreciate you sharing more details about SBI Shinsei! Just out of curiosity, what do you use Sony Bank for if SBI Shinsei is your main?
Well it’s a bit convoluted. My wife and I use a family credit card for our joint expenses. The card is paid out of a Sony bank account under her name.
We also have a GMOあおぞら account which has up to ten sub accounts. We keep money for our kids here, separated as child support (from the government) and an amount which we save each month (no investing because we are risk adverse at this point in our lives).
I transfer a lump sum from Shinsei to my Sony, which offers two free transfers which I use to send money to GMO. Sony to Sony is free, so I can transfer it to make the credit card payment.
We also have accounts with a regional bank, too.
Basically we try not to keep all of our eggs in one basket.
Been pretty happy with SMBC (NOT Prestia).
MUFJ also has decent online banking and is one of the few banks that offer debit cards.
That’s good to know. I was considering MUFJ a while back but ended up opening accounts with Sony and SBI Shinsei.
