I just learned this in another subreddit and it’s honestly something I wish I had known years ago when I first moved to Japan. So, I’m passing this on to you. This is especially useful if you plan on or end up living in Japan long-term.
Get an SDFCU (state department federal credit union) account.
Many US banks don’t allow you to keep an account if they find out you no longer have a permanent residence in the US. Especially if you have any investment accounts. If they don’t know you’re abroad, fine, but there’s always a chance they’ll catch you. It’s due to tax and other US laws.
However, an SDFCU account allows you to have a foreign address and number registered to your account for things like 2FA. They also give you access to debit cards and credit cards with no foreign transaction fees or balance fees. And in the future, access to cheaper loans and such.
You can join the SDFCU if you are a member of an affiliate organization, like the American Consumer Council (ACC) or the American Citizens Abroad (ACA). Having an account like this will make your life MUCH easier in Japan. You should be able to join while you are still in the states, but even if you don’t have time beforehand, you can still set it up in Japan once you have a proof of address, like your residence card, a juminhyo (document from your city office), or a gas bill.
Anyway, I hope this post saves people from the struggles I’ve faced up to this point. Good luck with moving to Japan!
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Edit: Anyone can join ACC or ACA for fee. ACC is cheaper. You only need to be a member when you join, you don’t need to maintain the membership forever.
9 comments
Pro tip right here
Credit Unions in general are the way to go. They all just don’t really care about the foreign address thing. SDFCU is a good one. Navy Fed is another, because if you can get on base you can actually talk to a real person if you want.
But really any credit union you can qualify for is a good choice.
Thank you for this tip.
There’s a thread from a couple years ago that discusses pros/cons of SDFCU and other options, linked below. I haven’t used SDFCU but use Schwab which is great. IMO it’s easier to maintain an actual residential address (friends, family, buy real estate) and mail forwarding in a low/no tax state than accidentally get your accounts closed by changing to a foreign address.
https://www.reddit.com/r/expats/comments/iruk6x/us_banking_abroad_my_experience_with_state_dept/?utm_medium=android_app&utm_source=share
Why did I hear that Bank of America allows you to have a foreign address?
Many employers and universities have their own credit unions as well. People should look to see if they have a possible connection to any credit union before signing up for a membership they don’t really need. (Also, dependents — like college students — can probably join their parents’ credit unions.)
I actually opened an SDFCU account years ago as I was going to be travelling to Europe and wanted a card with a chip long before they were widely available in the US. I ended up keeping the account and it has served me well since moving here. My work is still US based and doing wire transfers has been a breeze.
There is no problem with having a normal bank checking or savings account with a foreign address, perhaps some smaller banks are not equipped to deal with customers in foreign countries, but the larger banks are. Citibank, Bank of America, Wells Fargo, Chase are all banks that can deal with it among others I’m sure. You should make sure to get a Google voice phone number so that any verification codes go to that while you are living abroad. You can even open a US account while you are still living in a foreign country. I did that when I visited the US on holiday with Citibank.
Stock investments are another thing however. You cannot open an account with Vanguard for example with a foreign address, but changing your US address to a foreign address is possible it seems
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What about virtual mailboxes? Most virtual mailbox services scan, forward and cash checks as well. Some even offer Registered Agents services as well for those running businesses.
[https://expertvagabond.com/best-virtual-mailbox-service/](https://expertvagabond.com/best-virtual-mailbox-service/)
[https://howtostartanllc.com/registered-agent/registered-agent-vs-virtual-office](https://howtostartanllc.com/registered-agent/registered-agent-vs-virtual-office)