# Bank recommendations



## Narue86

Hi All,

I finally made it to Japan and arrived at Tokyo yesterday. Now it is time for paperwork...

One of the things I need to decide is a bank where to open an account. Do you have any recommendations?

I used to have a Mitsubishi UFJ account back in 2008 when I was a student. I never had a problem although I did not have any income since I was an undergraduate student with no part-time job.

Ideally, I would like a "gaijin friendly" bank. My Japanese skills are a bit dilapidated after 5 years outside Japan, but I could deal with it as long as the person is patient 

Of course, I would like a bank without commissions nor monthly fees, and if possible where ordering international transfers is not a big deal. My current bank in Spain (ING Direct) does not charge you for any service and all national transfers are free (international are not but easy to order from the internet).

I wonder if my ideal bank exists... 

Thank you in advance!


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## oatmeal

I use "www shinseibank com slash english". I'm thinking that is going to be your best bet. As far as banks go, it is a pretty good one and probably the most gaijin friendly.


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## Narue86

Thank you Oatmeal!

I had to make a decision today and I actually chose Shinsei Bank. It was the most "gaijin friendly" option as per my friend's opinions. So far they have been very nice with bilingual information and they created my account in 30 minutes with only requesting my Residence Card (I remember it took me a lot more to create my account in Mitsubishi UFJ back in 2008).

Great service


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## Narue86

*Certificate of Bank Account*

Sorry again...

In order to complete my contract, my company is asking me a certificate with the bank account details issued by my bank (Shinsei Bank). A copy of the passbook or 通帳 would be ok in these cases but Shinsei Bank works online so there is no such passbook... The day I opened the account, I asked them if they could give me a certificate (I used the word 証明書) as a proof that I hold a Shinsei bank account, but they said they do not have such type of certificates and that I should present just a copy of my cash card.

My company has obviously rejected the cash card copy and insists on me getting a certificate by the bank. I am not sure if this is my dilapidated Japanese not being able to communicate with the bank or if they are really not going to issue a simple paper stating my account details 

Could you please advise what I should do? Do you know exactly what Japanese words I should use to get this paper? Unfortunately, all my Japanese friends work and are pretty busy so I would rather not bother them if possible...

Thank you in advance.


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## larabell

I don't have an answer to your question other than: (a) put your employer in touch with the bank and see if they can work something out, or (b) open an account with a real bank.

I don't know what's up with Shinsei but I checked them out many years ago, I was told that they couldn't establish auto-payments with my landlord and a couple of my other monthly bills (they can do utilities but not much else). The only other bank I know of that doesn't issue a passbook is Citibank and they're not a "real" Japanese bank, either (very limited auto-pay support and no access via Japanese ATM network).

Mizuho should have good English support since one of their predecessors (Dai-ichi Kangyo) was the first to introduce ATMs with English menus. I'm happy with SMBC because I can do almost everything online but if you don't read Japanese, you're out of luck. I've heard good things about online access at Mitsubishi UFJ but I've never checked it out myself. You might want to check around your office to see which banks are close by. Even though most allow you to do a lot of stuff online, you'll still need to show your face at the branch for some things.


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