My wife recently received some money and we want to put it into our bank account here in Canada, but I’m not sure what would be the most cost effective way to transfer it. Bank rates are abysmal and have high fees usually, and I don’t have any experience with transferring money from Japanese bank account directly to my Canadian account. Does anyone have any experience with this?
3 comments
Have you considered putting it into crypto then transferring it to your Canadian account?
I use Wise (used to be called TransferWise) and it’s been a very painless experience.
First, you will probably get better answers in /r/JapanFinance for a question like this. It sounds like you’re not a resident of Japan so this thread will get locked very soon.
If you and your wife are in Japan then it’s easy. If it’s over 1mil JPY then open an account with Shinsei, Sony, or SBI Net bank. Use that account to transfer CAD to Canada.
If it’s under 500,000yen then open a Japanese WISE or Revolut account and use that to transfer CAD to Canada.
If it is between 500,000 and 1,000,000yen then either option should be fine, you will come out plus/minus a small amount but still FAR ahead of what a regular bank would charge you.
If you’re not in Japan then it is going to be a big PITA to deal with this. Probably best left alone until you visit Japan next time.
Also, if you do ever move back to Japan, be aware that Japan does not recognize joint bank accounts. Make sure you have that cleared up before you establish residency here or you could get screwed on gift taxes. Yes, even between a married couple.