Transferring Money Abroad (in 2014)

Hello everyone.

In this age of internet banking and the like, is there a simple way of transferring money between an account in Japan and one abroad (in this case, the UK) or do we still have to deal with the GoLloyds / GoRemit Shinsei Bank process?

Any advice at all would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks.

P

I think the only options are still GoRemit or through the post office. Japan's banking system has yet to come into the 21st Century.

Guess it depends on what bank you use, but certainly Citibank Japan, while it lasts, has no problems doing international SWIFT transfers. Transfers can be initiated online once the payee is set up.

My bank is Tokyo-Mitsubishi MUFG.

They have a special ATM (in its own cubicle), where once you set it up, you can transfer money directly into a foreign bank with a SWIFT code.

It's still called a telegraphic transfer, but it takes about 3 minutes to do the transaction.

scarreddragon:
I have long thought that Japan's banking system could do with being dragged into the modern day, but maybe it is time to think again. As the posters below have pointed out, there are options out there. In the meantime, I have indeed jumped through the requisite hoops and made my GoRemit application.

iago: Thank you. That sounds good. I don't have a Citibank near me but t is something I'll keep in mind.

Sandy: Really? That'd be perfect! Thank you. Have you used this service? Is it user/gaijin friendly? Do you know how much the transfer costs?

Thank you all for your replies.

P

"Sandy: Really? That'd be perfect! Thank you. Have you used this service? Is it user/gaijin friendly? Do you know how much the transfer costs?"

I have been using this service 10-12 times a year for maybe 3 years! It's quick and painless, and is Gaijin friendly (special ATM has English).
You have to set up the transfer details using the phone in the cubical, and a bank employee can help you as well. Once that's done, you get in, select you preset transfer details, and do the whole thing in a couple of minutes. It includes a PROPER detailed printout for records. (letter/A4 size)

It costs like normal: 4000 yen per transfer if converted to your target currency by the bank. In some cases, their rates are not good, so I always transfer in JPY and pay 2500yen extra. For me with my target currency, if I transfer more than about 100,000yen, the 2500yen is less than I lose with the bad bank exchange rate.