Question for my fellow Canadian expats only:

Hey guys, so I’ve been living and working here for about 3 months now, and I feel like I have tried everything I’m aware of as far as trying to send money to my Canadian bank account (I’m with one of the Big 5). Nothing has worked, PayPal won’t let me send money to myself or register my Japanese bank account, and Wise will not let me register my Canadian account as a payee, nor will it let me register my Japanese bank account for direct debit. I’m extremely frustrated as I really need to pay things like my credit card, etc. What do you guys use? I want to avoid wires because the process is ancient here, they said it’ll take 30 minutes to process (making it difficult for me to go after work) and it’s a flat rate of 7500 yen per wire regardless of the amount (I’m with JP bank here). There is the option of having the company I work for deposit my paycheques into my CAD account, however they said I’m responsible for any wire fees anyway, so I’m trying to see what everyone else uses.

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Any help is appreciated. TYSM

7 comments
  1. This isn’t Canadian expat (or immigrant, which ever one prefers) related.

    As a foreigner, For banking purposes you’re a non-resident, until after 6 months here. That is also likely why you’re struggling to link your (shitty) Japanese post bank account to Wise and/or PayPal.

    BUT if you’re a company employee working for a Japanese company you should be able to open a resident account with Sony bank.

    If you see here: https://moneykit.net/en/notice/17.html under category 3 you can include proof of employment: https://moneykit.net/en/help/account/doc/04.html

    If not then after 6 months you can then open a bank account with a better bank as resident (Sony being the best) or upgrade your Japan post account from non-resident to resident… which would require a trip to your local Japan post during opening hours.

  2. I use the wise multi-currency account and have seperate Yen and Cad accounts that I convert the money between. It only lets me transfer my Cad money to my Cad account. Did you convert from yen to cad and try sending it to your Cad account at that point?

    Sorry if it’s a useless question, just brainstorming. I hope you find a way! It might also be worth looking into opening a digital account such as EQ bank and trying to register them on wise and then send money to your main bank from there.

  3. Most people use a Wise Japan account without issue.

    I send money to my own bank account in Canada (RBC) every month, as well as to two different family members. You just need to make sure you have the right account details. And there is no need to register your Japanese account, just send a furikomi to Wise. If you need to make multiple Wise transfers, you can still make one transfer into Wise in advance to fund them.

  4. Canadian here, chiming in to say I’ve had no issues sending money to my Canadian bank account through Wise. Transfers are quick and easy.

  5. I’ve used Wise often to send money to Canada, but I’m really curious to know how to do the reverse. Can anyone point me in the right direction?

  6. I’ve pulled $ from my Canadian debit card at 711.
    Are you not able to also deposit cash into it from an atm?
    Never tried the reverse tho…
    Pulling yen of my c$ account works they just charge 2.5% to 3.5% + $1 to $5 fee.

    Figured doing the opposite could be possible?
    Or even tried paying off your credit card with cash at an atm? Haven’t tried either…

    Or have someone here paypal you $ and you give them cash?

    Also last week I needed 200000 yen
    I would have gladly paid your bills from my Canadian account and took the cash if u lived near me, perhaps someone else u know can do this and you’d both save on exchange fees…

    Lastly you can send $ via western union to a friend or family member back home whom you trust and ask him/her to pay your bills? (More risky and may cost more tho)

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