Owner of Mijica. Used for 3 years no issue. Applied for new debit card, took them a few weeks to reject me with no reason. Went to their branch office and while they said they can’t tell me why the rejection happened, they had this list of 6 things that you can get rejected for:
1) You already have a JP BANK CARD (credit card with cash card function)
-> I don’t.
2) You already have Yuucho Debit card
-> Obviously I don’t else I wouldn’t be applying for it.
3) You are a “non-resident” under the Income Tax Act or the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act
-> I was not so sure about this one. Technically you become a resident if you’ve lived in Japan for at least a year. I’ve been here over three years so this should’ve been OK…
4) Your period of stay expires within one year from date of your application for Yuucho Debit.
-> Nop, got a 5yo visa with plenty of years left.
5) You are under 15 years or junior high school student
-> No I’m not.
6) Your account is one of the following accounts – Corporate, Business, Transfer, Ordinary Savings, Integrated without a cash card
-> Mine is an ordinary account (not ordinary savings). So this is also OK.
Just to be sure, the clerk had me fill out some paper to declare I am a resident (instead of a nonresident) and then he said it will take 10 days, then I gotta go there again to verify the change went through, and finally I can try to reapply.
So I did all that, reapplied and… received a letter of rejection again today. This time they included another paper which states those 6 reasons are grounds for rejection but as said I am none of those. And it’s stupid anyway, like I’ve had your debit card for 3 years, why do I not qualify for the replacement service? How is it not that those who already own Mijica can get the new one kinda by default? Horrible.
This is ridiculous. But at this point the end of the month is coming after which Mijica will supposedly stop working, so I’m out of patience and options.
I’ve just finished applying for Sony Bank which has been widely recommended everywhere I’ve seen (gotta say it was a breeze with the app) and hopefully I’ll get a positive response from there. My backup plan is my still functioning visa from my home country, though I’d prefer to not use it due to conversion rates and such.
Anyone else actually successful at getting their new debit card after being rejected once? If so, what did you change? I’d so prefer not to cancel my JP post bank account cause other than this bs I’ve not had any issues but…
Well, anyway, I digress. Rant over.
I hope y’all staying safe in this recent outbreak.
13 comments
A lot of foreigner got rejected for the card (me included). I also got rejected open a bank with Sony for some reason. For now, I’m using LINE Prepaid VISA card, which is pretty convenient.
>Just to be sure, the clerk had me fill out some paper to declare I am a resident (instead of a nonresident) and then he said it will take 10 days, then I gotta go there again to verify the change went through, and finally I can try to reapply.
Did that a few days ago and planning to apply again at the beginning of the next month. I don’t have high hope tbh.
Strange, I also get rejected for the first time and then I called them in Japanese and ask about the reason. they said your new zairyu kado still being processed, and I need to wait for 2 weeks. I complied and then when I applied for the second time after 2 weeks grace period. They accepted my application. You might need to be patient.
I applied for shits and giggles about a month or two ago or so when there was a bunch of threads about people getting rejected, and surprisingly… received the card in mail about a week or two later. I do not actually need it…
I had to restart the online application several times but that had to do with the fact my jp post account was ancient and didn’t have a phone number registered and bla bla, I took care of that and updated all the info.
I do have PR, but according to the previous threads, non-PR holders were also approved so… It makes no sense.
When I was registering phone number to my account at post office I asked there if there was any special requirements for the card, saying that a bunch of foreigners got rejected, and they showed me that 6-bullet point list (but I think they pulled it online somewhere because they freshly printed it out).
just move away from yucho
their service has gone bad since the beginning of this year
I seriously don’t understand why *some* Japanese banks have such a mental breakdown issuing *debit* cards to people. I would understand credit card but a debit one? WTF? Banks in Japan really are institutions from another kinda planet.
Happy for you going with Sony bank. The big old Japanese banks are best to be avoided all together for many good reasons. Frankly I don’t even understand why people, foreigners especially, even bother having accounts with them.
I personally had good experience with Sony, SBI and Rakuten bank.
I have a Wise account. Today I applied “Wise card” (their Mastercard debit card). I got the card number, expiration date, CVV immediately. The physical card is mailed from outside of Japan and it will arrive in first week of August.
Maybe use other debit cards as an alternative, like line pay n stuff
I’ve given up with Yuucho. The way they treat their customers is just disgusting. It’s a fricking debit card, there is no financial risk on their part involved here. They’re just going full anal Japanese about enforcing rules that they refuse to even explain, and hide behind layer upon layer of idiotic bureaucracy (apparently, they don’t like middle names, they don’t like people with less than 12 months left on their residence card, etc., all of which seems very conveniently designed to target a certain demographic).
I applied 4 times including once in-person. Rejected every time, no one ever tried to help me. I ended up switching banks. I also had a Mijica card for 2+ years with no problems.
Is there any particular reason you want a debit card instead of a credit card? There are many different companies that will let you apply for credit cards.
Ive used Mizuho bank for a couple years and have had no problem with my debit card. Used to have some stupid restrictions but now they got rid of them so I can use it pretty much everywhere apart from gas stations that dont like Japanese debit cards for some reason. Also works with apple pay. From my experience I heavily recommend Mizuho.
One downside is that debit card is separate from cash card so I still need the latter to withdraw money from ATMs but since I pay with credit/debit card as much as possible its not a problem.
I haven’t had this much trouble with yuucho but I’m thinking of getting rid of the account. I was rejected for the debit card but probably because I was fresh off the plane. Super recommend Sony bank. Instant debit card that is also your cash card and gives you slight cashback. Now my wife also wants to open a Sony account. You probably don’t need another bank unless there’s a credit card you really like or decide to stay here and buy a house or something.