Source
r/JapanTravel•
murphyflicker

Using a NatWest Visa Debit card in Japan (Approx 90 days)

I'm off to Japan for a year to work. Good times! When I get paid, I will have money go into a Japanese bank account (Not opened yet) however for the first month or so, I'll be living off my UK account, which is a NatWest account with a Visa Debit card.

I've done a fair bit of research but I keep getting a few mixed messages about where will accept it. Some say it will be OK in 7/11s and JP Post, but then others say that despite the publicity back home, it's pretty difficult to make withdrawals.

The Japan Post Bank site quotes: "Japan Post Bank provides cash withdrawal services for credit cards and cash cards issued by overseas financial institutions.Cards bearing the VISA, VISAELECTRON, PLUS, MasterCard, Maestro, Cirrus, American Express, Diners Club, JCB, China Unionpay and DISCOVER can make withdrawals at Japan Post Bank ATMs."

^^This list doesn't mention Visa Debit, though sometimes with online purchases, there's only a VISA option.

I've got 100,000 Yen with me now and enough in my account for another 100,000 at least, which I will probably need. My trip (or at least the first 90 days) is registered with the bank so there should be minimal problems with blocking the card. It's just finding somewhere to use it. (I'll be living in Yamato, Kanagawa) If it IS difficult, I will have time to get some more Yen arranged before departure, but I would like to avoid this if poss.

Apologies for once again another Debit card post, I guess I just need some reassurance heh!

Cheers all

Posted Jul 16, 2014, 11:33 AM UTC

410
ruffas•

The post office and 7-11 accept most major international cards. I took a trip here two years ago two years ago before moving here this year, and both of them accepted my Visa debit card, so y'all should be fine. Just be aware that Japan is very cash-centric, so expect to be carrying a lot of it.

3
murphyflickerOP•

Thanks very much. This is what I'd heard previously but just couldn't be too sure. Have you heard any stories either there or online about the machines getting tetchy because the card comes from a certain bank, regardless if it's debit or not?

1
Ansalem•

Bank doesn't matter as long as it's VISA. There were some on/off issues with Mastercard the last couple of years, which seem to all have been resolved anyway, but VISA has always been fine.

2
vespaholic•

I've had little issue using my American visa debit card at JP ATM. It's easy to switch the language on the atms which are also available outside of the post office at most banks of atms at malls and such.

A few things to note :

Japanese atms have hours, 10am to 8pm. When I use the family mart atm after hours my Japanese bank changes 100-200 yen per transaction.

7/11 stopped allowing you to use your foreign ATM cards last year, as of April I believe. If you could use a 711 atm you wouldn't have to worry about atm hours.

International transaction fees. My American bank changes about $12 USD every time I use the JP ATM. Your bank probably has a similar fee so look it up.

If you can get a JP bank account because they're available everywhere in Japan. My bank, Bank of the Ryukyus doesn't have many ATMs outside of my Prefecture, Okinawa. If you go with a local bank, and travel you may not be able to use your bank card outside your Prefecture.

As far as I know no bank in Japan offers anything like a visa debit card like I'm used to using in the states, you could sign up for a Japanese credit card which automatically debits the total from your bank account every month.

Tl;dr : yes you can use a foreign ATM card but only at JP post to get cash.

2
murphyflickerOP•

Thanks very much...You've saved me a few palpitations there I'd say! I was going to think 7/11s would be my best bet, seems not now! As for the charges, I'm prepared to cough up a bit, and I'm ready for the hours as well. I hear that international money exchange closes a little earlier too, and then probably denies transactions with "INTERNATIONAL EXCHANGE CLOSED" or something to that nature. I will open an account in Japan, though I am not sure when...It won't be too long after I leave, though I'll mainly be using it after the 45-90 days when my first paycheque comes through. I better go and get one of those handheld card readers from the bank in case online banking IS needed. Natwest are good at what they do but they are hot on security...rightly so.

1
vespaholic•

AFAIK, Japan basically fears the internet and not many banks offer online banking. My Japanese bank does, but my ability to read Kanji + google chrome auto translate, isn't good enough to let me sign up.

You'll get a passbook which you'll put into an ATM to update your transactions, rent, bills, etc. Sorta looks like this.

You'll probably also going to need an inkan made, to open the bank account, this depends on your bank, some places allow a signature for offical documents others don't. Unless you have a typical Japanese name you'll probably have to have one made ahead of time (can take about a week to make), my cost 3500 yen to make.

1
ukatama•

Every major bank in Japan offers internet banking as well as a buttload of Internet banks.

2
autowikibot•

#####

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#### [Seal (East Asia)](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal%20(East%20Asia\)):

A seal, in an East Asian context, is a general name for printing [stamps](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Seal_(device\)) and impressions thereof which are used in lieu of signatures in personal documents, office paperwork, contracts, art, or any item requiring acknowledgement or authorship. China, Japan, Taiwan, and Korea currently use a mixture of seals and hand signatures, and increasingly, electronic signatures.

Chinese seals are typically made of [stone](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rock_(geology\)), sometimes of metals, wood, bamboo, plastic, or ivory, and are typically used with red ink or cinnabar paste (Chinese: 朱砂; pinyin: zhūshā). The word 印 ("yìn" in Mandarin, "in" in Japanese and Korean, pronounced the same) specifically refers to the imprint created by the seal, as well as appearing in combination with other ideographs in words related to any printing, as in the word "印刷", "printing", pronounced "yìnshuā" in Mandarin, "insatsu" in Japanese. The colloquial name chop, when referring to these kinds of seals, was adapted from the Hindi word chapa and from the Malay word cap meaning stamp or rubber stamps.

====

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1
murphyflickerOP•

Ahh cheers, good old inkans. Remember watching the original Hachiko film and them using a fingerprint when the chap had forgotten his stamp. For transactions from my Japanese account I'm not too worried. My online banking will be pretty one-sided, in the way that I'll throw money from my UK account at the Japanese one until things are OK. Good to know that online banking is not too common there, as I'll now know to go and look for some rather than just assume it's there. I've also gathered that it is a lengthly-ish process to set the account up, which is why my Natwest acc will be pretty essential until then.

Have you tried Rikaichan for the translation? Easy to use and it does each bit in manageable chunks. Most important thing to get under one's belt is the grammar and verb endings, as it does work the kanji very nicely.

1
bibaman•

I would also like to know the answer to this exact question. Leaving next week for a three week honeymoon in Tokyo/Kyoto. I'm also a Natwest Visa Debit card user! Assumed the VISA option included Visa Debit personally...

1