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Banks

Alias/通称名​

Allowed​

  • Rakuten Bank
    • At least for JRE Bank, a justification/rationale for using your 通称名 is required
  • PayPay Bank (paper application)
  • SMBC Bank (have to visit counter)
  • Aeon Bank (no online application, have to visit counter or apply by post)

Disallowed​

  • Japan Post Bank (for non-kanji using country)
  • Shinsei Bank
  • Prestia Trust Bank

Interest rate​

The standard interest rate for regular bank accounts (普通預金) in Japan is 0.02%, but some banks offer higher interest rates. See the following banks for details:

Credit cards​

Rakuten Card is generally recommended as one of the easiest for foreigners to get approved for. Their cards come in three tiers- regular, Gold, and Premium. You can select the card network you want for your card (Visa/MasterCard/JCB/AmEx) and each comes with different benefits and annual fees.

Regular card:

  • no annual fee
  • earns 1 Rakuten point per 100 yen
  • the included overseas travel insurance only covers package holidays, so may not be applicable to most readers here
  • ETC card can be added for 550 yen annual fee

Gold card (AmEx option NOT available):

  • 2200 yen annual fee
  • earns 1 Rakuten point per 100 yen, +1 point multiplier on Rakuten Ichiba when shopping on your birthday month
  • Includes access to credit card airport lounges in Japan (usually a nice seating area, power outlets, WiFi, and soft drinks/coffee/tea) twice per year
  • Same insurance benefit for package holidays abroad
  • Waived ETC card annual fee

Premium card:

  • 11000 yen annual fee
  • earns 1 Rakuten point per 100 yen, year-round +2 point multiplier on Rakuten Ichiba (caps at 5000 points) as well as +1 multiplier on birthday month
  • Includes unlimited access to credit card airport lounges in Japan and free Priority Pass membership (access to airport lounges while abroad, currently unlimited, will be limited to 5 visits a year in 2025)
  • Included travel insurance covers individually purchased travel as well as package holidays both within and outside Japan if flights and hotel (for international travel) are paid for before departing Japan (up to 3 million yen per injury or illness incurred while abroad, 30 million yen in liability insurance if you injure someone else, 500k yen if your personal items are damaged or stolen while traveling abroad)
  • Includes purchase protection against damage or theft for 90 days after purchase (up to 3 million yen a year, 3000 yen deductible per claim, excludes portable electronics and RC toys among some other things)

They also have an ANA co-branded card, and since the Rakuten to ANA point transfer system has been "under maintenance" for the last two months with no sign of ending, it's the only way to earn ANA miles on a Rakuten card for now (if you can't get approved for a standard ANA card, for instance). There's also a "Rakuten Bank Card" available if you have a Rakuten Bank account, which combines the cash card with a JCB credit card, however this is less flexible than having a separate Rakuten Bank debit card and credit card (on their own, you have a choice of card networks, as a combined card your only choice of card network is JCB), so it's not recommended.

iD/QuiCPay​

Japan has a number of tap to pay systems unique to the country. Two of these associated with credit cards and prepaid cards are iD and QuiCPay. If you add a Japanese credit card to Google Pay, chances are it will use one of these instead of the credit network's own contactless payment mode. Cards added to Apple Pay are generally dual-mode, and you will be able to choose whether to use the credit network or iD/QuiCPay. Your credit card can also come with QuiCPay or iD built in. When using these payment modes, you will need to tell the cashier "iD" or "QuiCPay", and unlike with a Visa/MasterCard/AmEx contactless transaction, you will need to hold your phone or card to the reader until the transaction is complete.

Direct debit​

Bank transfers​

In Japan, you have two ways of sending domestic bank transfers- account transfer or "cash transfer". Account transfers are from your account to the recipient's account, and depending on your bank, can be done at the branch, at an ATM, or in online/mobile banking, while "cash transfers" are done by going to a bank ATM or branch with cash and the destination account's information. You'll be asked to give your name in katakana as well as the recipient's name and branch/account numbers, and there will usually be a fee depending on the ATM's operating bank, the destination bank, and sometimes even the destination branch.

Debit cards​

While all national banks in Japan (MUFG, SMBC, Resona, Mizuho) will offer debit cards, regional or local banks in your area may or may not. In addition, some banks, like Shinsei, may have separate prepaid cards for spending purposes that you transfer money into as needed. In Japan, the majority of debit cards offered by banks run on the Visa network, which works in more places abroad, but some banks (like Mizuho and Aeon) offer JCB debit cards instead. These will work at many places abroad but acceptance won't be as wide as Visa. MasterCard debit is rare, but works similarly to Visa, with the added benefit of also working at Costco if you shop there. Some banks (like Rakuten) offer a choice of network in which case you can decide which works for you.

There is a local debit network called J-Debit, which is what you'll be able to use if you end up with a cash card without a card network logo, but stores that accept it are rare outside the biggest cities. If you can only get a cash card/J-Debit card from your bank, then you can consider signing up for another account at a bank that does offer debit cards or pairing your bank account with a prepaid card or a QR payment app like PayPay (QR), Rakuten Pay (QR), Kyash (card), Mixi M (card), WebMoney (card), or ANA Pay (virtual card). See the section on payment apps for more details on using these.

Another thing to be aware of is that some banks will offer credit cards with cash card functionality (Aeon calls this "Aeon Card Select", Rakuten calls this "Rakuten Bank Card", Ikeda Senshu Bank in Osaka calls it "Saica", among others). This is not the same as a debit card, and if that bank would not normally approve you for a standalone credit card, you will probably not be approved for this combined card product either.