Banking

[synthia]

One of the reasons I didn't go the automatic payment route was that the bank charged something like 500 yen for every payment.

[larabell]

Geeze... what bank did you use? For rent and utilities (and, with my former bank, ATM transactions) I haven't been charged a fee in 10 years. It's probably a good point to bring up and possibly more important than English ability, since once you have things set-up, it's unlikely you'll need a real bank teller for quite a while...

[synthia]

Fuji. I was there in the early 90's. There was one woman at the bank who spoke English, and someone ran and got her whenever I entered the bank. The ATM was only available during bank hours, was inside the bank, and came complete with an attendant who would help everyone with their transactions, including their bill payments and transfers.

[beatnik]

Originally Posted by steadyboy

Can anyone tell me how easy/difficult it is to open a bank account in Japan. Do the tellers in high street branches speak English?

you can easily open an account in Japan. I don't think you will have too hard a time finding a banker with English skills to assist you. I asked my friend and I think the only requirement for an american is to have an address.

[Sunshine Gal]

Hi,

Besides having a bank account in Japan, I actually understand from my friend that you can actually something called 'offshore banking'. This means that u can hv a bank account outside Japan and yet can access to it. Heard that banks in Singapore do offer too. In this way, u can forget abt d worries of having staff nt being able to speak English.

Let me know if u need the contact.

Cheers,
Sunshine Gal

Originally Posted by steadyboy

Can anyone tell me how easy/difficult it is to open a bank account in Japan. Do the tellers in high street branches speak English?

[larabell]

I'd be interested in the details of offshore accounts. It might be a good way to stash money someplace other than Japan. But I seriously doubt it would be workable as a substitute for having a local account. Having "access" to your money isn't quite the same as being able to set-up auto-deposit for your income, auto-payment for rent and utilities, and being able to send money to another person or business via the ATM machines. These things are essential parts of living in Japan and I would be willing to bet money that the Singapore account doesn't support those kinds of day-to-day transactions.