Wondering if anyone has any first-hand experience with this.
I live in Japan but my primary source of income is in the US. Recently, my bank in the US has decided that I can’t have an account with them anymore because I live in Japan. I tried to set up an international account with another bank, but was denied for the same reasons.
What are my best options here? To repeat: 95% of my income is from the US, I need a way to access that money easily (ATM card) and transfer it to Japan when possible. Right now, my bank in Japan is Shinsei, and they’re absolutely horrible with international transfers, very slow with invasive questions that were irrelevant to what Japanese law requires.
Aren’t there international banks that are supposed to make this kind of thing easier? There are tons of rich jerks out there, how the heck do they move their money so easily?
14 comments
I have had a U.S. bank account for over 25 years . so I would suggest finding a different bank .. I’f you have a U.S. address you can use .. use it .. I have a U.S. and Japanese address on my checks without incident
If you can ask your employer to pay you through Internet service like PayPal, Bitwallet, just ask.
Yes, I live in Japan but maintain USA bank accounts. Most banks don’t seem to want to open an account if you have a foreign address due to a lack of a foreign banking license or some other regulations, real or imaginary. Some banks will let you open your account in the USA and continue to use it if you move out of country.
If you have family in the USA, try using their address. Alternately, you can use a PO Box or the UPS Store to open your account.
Of the two financial institutions that I use, one is a credit union. They issue debit cards at their branch. Statements are sent by email. I use this account for spending money and retrieve cash from 7-11 ATMs. I’m paranoid about losing my debit card but I noticed that the credit Union doesn’t deactivate my old card when I ask for a new one, so I keep one of the cards safely at home.
The other bank is USAA bank and everything is done remotely. They won’t open new accounts for overseas last time I checked. Due on unauthorized access to my accounts they closed my existing account but then refused to open a new replacement account due to my address in Japan. So, I just put my parents’ address on the account. I get deposits there and transfer some money via wise to my Prestia account in Japan once a month. They sent the debit card to my parents but I never bothered to get and activate it.
tldr; use a USA address.
Edit: and get a USA phone number.
Some banks will let you use Google voice, but it’s hard to know until you actually have an account. I do have some investment and retirement accounts that require a real USA phone number.
Have a look at Wise (formerly known as Transfer Wise), or Revolut. I believe they’ll provide most people with a US account number that can receive funds (#), and an ATM card that can access it.
(#) I’m not sure if this is available to everyone, or if it is only offered to some nationalities only.
This is the 2nd post I see within the same hour of an American in Japan having their US Bank account suddenly closed.
Get your employer to pay you to Japan via wire transfer, set up an account that receives foreign currency like at Prestia. That way you are getting paid USD in Japan.
Plenty of US banks will let you keep an account overseas, though. I have a small account there, registered with my Japanese address and phone number.
If all else fails, look up the state department federal credit union.
Still, I’ve had no problems receiving intl transfers at shinsei–as another poster suggests, have your employer wire in your salary instead of dealing with it yourself. Also, be aware that the tax office here gets notified almost automatically in many cases, so make sure you’re square with them to start with.
I’ve had good luck with HSBC when I needed to be payed Australian income to use while living in Vietnam. Try them? They have great chat service support and are international-banking friendly in my experience.
Charles Schwab bank in the US is pretty awesome and things are done completely online. Try opening an account with them.
Open an account with Wise. They give you local details in USD you can use to receive funds. They also specialise in international transfers so converting the money to JPY and sending it to any local bank here will be very easy
Now that you live abroad and are a US citizen, you can join the SDFCU (state department federal credit union) even with your foreign address. You just need your documents translated to English if they’re written in Japanese.
Citibank has never been a problem for me
Are you a veteran or have any close family members that are?
If so open an account at Navy Federal Credit Union.
So many of their members are veterans or retired service members living overseas.
No suggestions but this might shed some light on the challenges you’re going to be facing. Time to get your US guys into the 21st century and using wire transfers.
https://dnyuz.com/2023/11/05/why-banks-are-suddenly-closing-down-customer-accounts/