I am looking for a service that provides a phone number that can be used for receiving SMS text messages for 2 factor logins to my bank in Japan after moving out of Japan. Something similar to Google Voice would be fantastic.
We moved out of Japan years ago. But with family back in Japan getting old, we now have a new need to maintain bank accounts in Japan. The accounts are open/reactivated, but they all require a local Japanese number for 2 factor authentication. We are using said relatives for the 2FA, but they are getting old and they are the reason the accounts are needed so we don’t want to bother them every time we need to log in or do a transfer.
So we’re looking for an alternative to get a Japanese phone number. There is a VOIP provider that will give out 03 numbers and other non-050 numbers that costs $13/month plus taxes (not specified). Rakuten Mobile’s cheapest plan is 1000 JPY/mo now. Does that work over wifi internationally since we will effectively be roaming all the time? Skype only offers 050 numbers.
Do 050 numbers work for 2FA? What else do you recommend to have a Japanese number you can use when not in Japan?
8 comments
050 does not receive SMS. Sign up for the cheapest mvno plan (preferably not rakuten) and roam on it. rokemoba has a ~330 yen/month slow data + SMS plan.
Thankfully not all banks require 2fa. Get an account in one of those.
An out-of-my-ass suggestion, but you could keep the phone in Japan and use [SMS to email forwarding](https://phandroid.com/2021/08/30/how-to-automatically-forward-sms-to-your-email-on-android/) to send you the 2FA codes. I don’t think the delay would be that much, but someone would have to make sure it stay charged.
If your relatives are using Androids, I think it’s simple enough to set up a filter for those specific SMS from banks and keep having the 2FA sent to them.
Despite what r/tomodachi_reloaded says…
I’ve recently considered going numberless (internet-only sim), and made a TFA count in my phone history. It turned out that I have SMS TFA with 32 different services. Maybe 10 of those would be gone if I moved to another country, a few might already be broken or simply forgotten, and maybe 10 I could leave without. That still leaves ~10 that I do need. Mostly banking, taxes, bureaucracy. It’s scary.
I believed short-code (phone number shorter than usual) works the same worldwide, which you won’t be able to receive the text unless you are physically in the country, it checks your current location before sending. Japan carrier, VoIP etc won’t be able to get around with this. Same for me trying to receive bank 2FA from US in Japan with VoIP, it just doesn’t work (I was able to convinced some bank to have the email verification option enabled instead of text 2FA).
The only way so far I know that 100% works is having a phone turned on 24/7 in Japan with text forwarding to your email.
I second those saying not all banks require 2FA. Rakuten mobile works great when outside of Japan
Rakuten mobile
No charge for no (data) use , can keep mobile number and data and even use it from abroad if needed.
My friend has gotten it for his Japanese GF before she moved to US
I think that skype can provide Japan numbers.