Originally Posted by
Q Shoe Guy
So are you suggesting that he go through the SMBC or MUFJ? Even after what Acregal and others have wrote?
Hold yer horses Q....
The way I read it, Joe was stating that the student
can open an account at Shinsei (since student visas aren't the same as "temporary visitor" status). However, for the sake of giving complete answer, Joe states that even "temporary visitors" aren't barred from opening accounts at other banks.
As for the $80,000 transfer. I agree that SMBC did a shoddy job in communicating with your friend. I understand that Banks are required to check the reason for transfers that exceed a certain amount. I think it's the same amount of cash and monetary instruments that you're allowed to bring through customs when entering the country. The rule exists in order to prevent money laundering. I'm sure the yakkies find their activities severely hampered this regulation. (... not).
However, when it comes to the amounts that a student will typically transfer, there is little chance that it will trigger a money-laundering alert. Over the years I've made quite a few transfers -- of a few thousand dollars each time -- to and from the UK. Transfers from my MUFJ account in Tokyo now reach my HSBC account in Leeds on the same day. I haven't had a problem in the last 8 years.
I have to say that I found it very reassuring during my student days to know that my parents could easily transfer some money to my Sumitomo bank account. These days, I guess the OP can achieve the same by having his parents tranfer the money to his US bank account - and then go to an ATM that allows him to use his US cards. (That wasn't really an option when I was a student and the continents hadn't yet shifted into their current configuration).
Finally -- Even if the Japanese bank experience is as awful for the OP as it has been for some of the people in this thread, I think it would still be a worthwhile exercise for the OP to open an account and see what it entails. The fact that you can be fussed over for half an hour, thanked profusely, given a gift (perhaps some soap, a pen, some tissues etc.), given a cute little bank book with cartoony characters... and yet still feel underserved because the fundamental services that you want are missing... that's a valuable cultural experience and lesson that can be applied to many service industries in Japan.