SBI SHINSEI BANK

Helpful Info

Useful information and hints when making international money transfers from Japan with GoRemit.

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Helpful Information for Foreign Residents

If you have just arrived in Japan or do not speak Japanese, using Japanese banks can be a daunting experience, and sending money overseas even more so. This page is to provide you with some useful information and hints to help make the process a little easier.

Making a Domestic Transfer - "Furikomi"

Once you have registered for GoRemit, we will send you a letter that contains the account details of our domestic collection account. All you have to do is make a domestic money transfer from your Japanese bank account to our collection account, then GoRemit will send the funds to the overseas account you registered with us. The process of making a domestic money transfer (money sent between two banks in Japan) is called "Furikomi" (振込み) in Japanese.

In general, there are 4 different ways that you can make a "Furikomi". Depending on the bank you use, some of the below methods may not be available, and the comission fees may vary between methods. Please also note that while the most common cut-off time for same-day transfers is 3:00pm, some banks may have an earlier cut-off time.

Explanation Pros Cons
At a Branch With the rise of online banking, "furikomi" transfers from a branch are falling, however if you live in a rural area and do not have online banking, this may be the easiest way to send funds. ①Remittance Limits are often higher than via ATM or online. ①You may have to wait to be served.
②It can take some time for funds sent to arrive at GoRemit, so if you try to do the procedure close to the deadline (3:00pm), funds might not arrive at GoRemit on the same day.
Online Banking This is fast becoming the most common way to perform many banking procedures, including "furikomi". ①Quick! Funds sent online will usually arrive at our collection account within a couple of minutes.
②Most banks offer the option to save your beneficiary details, making it even easier to send funds in the future.
①Many banks only offer online banking in Japanese, and even if they do offer online banking in English, certain details(Bank Name, Branch Name, etc.) may have to be input in Japanese.
②Many banks do not automatically offer online banking, meaning you may have to register for it seperately.
ATM Another very common way for making "furikomi" transfers. ①ATMs are everywhere. Most convenience stores and department stores have ATM machines available. ①ATMS often have considerably lower remittance limits than other methods.
②Not all ATMs offer the "furikomi" feature.
Telephone Some banks offer the option of making a "furikomi" transfer by telephone. ①No need to visit a branch, ATM or login online. ①You may have to wait to be connected, and the procedure itself may take some time.

What you need to make a furikomi

Bank name - The name of the bank you are sending funds to
Branch name - The name of the branch you are sending funds to (in some cases you may have the option of providing the 3-digit branch number)
Account type - The account type of the beneficiary account. The most common account type is "Regular" - 普通("futsuu")
Account number - The account number of the receiving account
Account name* - The beneficiary account holder's name. Some banks will automatically display the account name after you have put in the above information. If your bank does not do this, please take extra care when inputting the account name.
  • When sending money to GoRemit, the Account Name will be "SBI Shinsei Bank, Limited"(Japanese: カ)シンセイギンコウ), not your name. Please take care to input the correct name.

Useful Phrases when making a "Furikomi"

English Japanese English Japanese
Domestic Transfer 振込み - "Furikomi" Account Name 口座名 - "Kōza-mei"
Confirm 確認 - "Kakunin" Branch Name 支店名 - "Shiten-mei"
Correction 訂正 - "Teisei" Regular Account 普通預金 "Futsū-Yokin"
Amount 金額 - "Kingaku" Account Number 口座番号 - "Kōza-bangō"
Bank Name 銀行名 - "Ginkō-mei" Cancel 取り消し - "Torikeshi"

Receiving postal documentation from GoRemit

Depending on the type of documents being sent to you, the method in which documents are posted will vary. Below are the most common types of post.

Types Document Type How
Unforwardable Restricted Delivery Mail Service (collection restricted to yourself) Your initial welcome pack, containing your registration letter, is sent via this method. The Post Office will place a notice in your mail box. Once you have received this notice, you can either call the Post Office to arrange a delivery time, or go in person to the Post Office to collect it. As this type of post can only be received by yourself (no-one can collect it on your behalf), you will be required to show a piece of ID to the Post Office staff before collecting it. This post is unforwardable, meaning that if you have recently moved house and arranged for the Post Office to forward incoming post, it will be returned to us.
Registered Mail If we have to send (or return) documents that contain sensitive personal information (ID copies, etc.), we will generally use this type of post. You have to sign to receive it, but may not be required to show ID to the Post Office staff.
Regular Mail All other types of documents. This kind of post will be placed directly into your mailbox.

Cancelling a "Furikomi"

Mistakes happen. If you enter invalid account information (wrong account name etc.) when making a "furikomi", the tranfer will normally be rejected and sent back to you automatically, however there are some circumstances where you may have to cancel a "furikomi" by yourself, for example the account details you provided were correct, however we are not able to continue with the remittance for some other reason. The process of cancelling (reversing) a furikomi transfer is called "Kumimodoshi" (組戻し) in Japanese.

Unfortunately, once funds have entered our collection account, it is not possible for us to automatically send funds back to the originating account (we cannot see the originating bank account details).

A manual "kumimodoshi" must be requested at the bank the funds were sent from. Each bank has its own procedure regarding "kumimodoshi". You may be able to request it by telephone, or you may be requested to go into a branch in person. If someone else sent funds from their account to your GoRemit account, that person must perform the "kumimodoshi".

Depending on the bank you use, a fee to perform the "kumimodoshi" may apply.

Common reasons a customer is required to perform a "kumimodoshi" (not exhaustive)

Incorrect sender name If the account details are correct, the funds will enter our collection account, however funds must be sent in the name of the registered customer. If we receive funds in the name of a friend, family member or workplace, etc., we cannot process the overseas remittance.
Wrong amount If you make a mistake with the remittance amount and wish to cancel the payment, you will have to perform a "kumimodoshi". If you make a mistake with the amount, please contact us immediately. If we do not hear from you in time, the funds will be sent overseas with the amount received.
Account deactivated If your GoRemit account is deactivated and we are unable to reopen it for any reason, you will be required to perform a "kumimodoshi". Unfortunately, even if a GoRemit account is deactivated, our collection account cannot automatically reject payments.

Please be advised that once a payment has been sent overseas, even if you request a "kumimodoshi" at the bank you sent funds from, we will not be able to return the funds to you. For information on cancelling a transfer that has already been sent overseas, please see the below section.

Issues with Overseas Remittances

When registering your overseas account details, our experienced staff will do their best to make sure that details are registered in the correct format for that country, currency etc., however we are not able to confirm that details such as the account number, account name etc. provided are correct. Once you have received your welcome pack from us, please double-check that all registered details provided are correct before sending funds. Although minor errors are sometime corrected by the receiving bank, many banks worldwide will reject the transfer if even the slightest detail is not correct.

What happens if an Overseas Remittance doesn't go through

If the overseas bank does not or cannot accept the payment for whatever reason, one of two things will happen:

①Funds are returned If funds are returned, it is not uncommon for the overseas banks to deduct a charge from the amount as either a cancellation or investigation fee. If funds are returned to us, you can either update the account details and resend the transaction, or we can return the funds to your Japanese account.
②We receive an inquiry from the overseas bank If we receive an inquiry from the overseas bank, you can either update the account details with us, after which we will send new instructions, or you can request that the remittance be cancelled and funds returned to us. If we send new instructions to the overseas bank, they may request a fee to correct the payment. Should this happen, we will request you transfer the requested amount to our collection account.
  • Should you wish for funds to be returned to your Japanese account, you will be required to submit a form providing your Japanese account details. Funds returned to us will be converted back into Japanese Yen and deposited to the account you specify (must be an account in your name). Any fees already deducted by GoRemit or by overseas banks will not be returned, and fluctuations in the exchange rate between the time of sending funds and returning funds may affect the final amount.

Common reasons that Overseas Remittances do not go through (Not exhaustive)

Incorrect account details Account details provided by the customer are not correct.
Out of date account details Because GoRemit is a pre-registered service, every remittance you make will be made with the same details that you originally registered with us unless you apply to change them. It is not unheard of for overseas bank account details to change, such as for security reasons or because of a bank merger, etc, without the sender realizing.
Receiving account is closed This is increasingly likely if you haven't make a remittance for a while. Certain banks will freeze or close an account that has not been used for a certain period of time.
Compliance Overseas Remittances are subject to very strict screening to prevent funds being sent for the purpose of Money Laundering, or to individuals or areas that are subject to financial sanctions, etc.. Should any part of the payment details (Beneficiary or Sender's name, address, message to beneficiary, etc.) be flagged as similar to that of a sanctioned individual, institution or place, etc., extra information may be required before the payment can be accepted. This can happen at the screening of SBI Shinsei Bank, or any overseas intermediary or receiving bank.
Beneficiary rejected payment Uncommon, however if the beneficiary rejects the payment for whatever reason, funds will be returned to us.
Unable to accept incoming payments from overseas Also uncommon, some banks or account types may not be able to accept incoming payments from overseas.
Intermediary Bank required Some overseas banks (especially smaller banks), may require funds to be sent via a specific Intermediary Bank (Also called a "Correspondant Bank") in order to receive funds. If you register an Intermediary Bank with us, we will send funds via that bank, however if the beneficiary bank requires an intermediary bank and you do not register one with us, funds may be returned to us.
Purpose of Remittance Some countries require the sending bank to specify the purpose of payment when making overseas remittances. Depending on restrictions in that country or specific account, funds sent for certain purposes may be rejected.

Cancelling an overseas remittance

If an overseas remittance has been sent and received by the beneficiary, but you wish to cancel a remittance for your own reasons (ie: you transferred funds by mistake or sent funds to the wrong beneficiary , etc.), you may request a cancellation by submitting the appropriate request form. Please contact our Customer Service at 0120-227-503 (Weekdays 9:00am - 5:00pm) to request this form.

Please be advised that when requesting a cancellation of an overseas remittance, the overseas bank may deduct a fee before returning funds, and any fees already deducted by GoRemit and/or overseas banks when originally sending the funds will not be returned. Additionally, fluctuations in the exchange rate between the time of sending funds and returning funds funds may affect the final amount returned to you. Also, as funds cannot be returned from overseas without the approval of the overseas beneficiary, we cannot guarantee that a cancellation request will be accepted. Even with this approval it may take several days for funds to be returned.

Overseas Bank Details

Although things are changing, required account details can vary greatly from country to country. Below is a breakdown of the most common bank details required for sending funds overseas.

International Standards

SWIFT Code - Also called a "BIC (Bank Idenfier Code)" code, the SWIFT code is an international standard used by most banks. SWIFT codes are 8 or 11 digit codes used to identify a bank. 8 digit codes are usually a main or larger branch, whereas 11-digit codes are used to specify specific branches.

IBAN - The IBAN ("International Bank Account Number") is a relatively new format. IBANs are a maximum of 34 digits long, and contain the country code, bank code, branch code, and account number. Recently, more and more countries are adopting the IBAN format, especially countries in Europe, The Middle East, South America and North Africa. Some countries that use IBAN do not require it to accept overseas remittances, however an increasing number of countries will not accept payments from overseas if you do not provide one.

Country-specific codes

ABA/Routing Number (USA) - the ABA (also called a "Routing Number") is a 9-digit code used for clearing payments in the US. When sending USD payments to the US, the ABA of the receiving bank is required.

Sort Code (UK) - The Sort Code is a 6-digit branch code used in the UK. When sending GBP payments to the UK, the Sort Code is required.

Transit Number (Canada) - The Transit Number is a 5-digit branch code used in Canada. The Transit Number may be paired with the 3-digit Institution Number, or provided as part of a 9-digit routing number (different from the ABA number used in the US).

BSB Number (Australia and New Zealand) - The BSB Number is a 6-digit branch code used in Australia and New Zealand. In Australia, it is provided as a distinct number, in New Zealand, the BSB Number is commonly provided as the first 6 digits of the account number. When sending AUD to Australia or NZD to New Zealand, the BSB number is required.

IFSC Code (India) - The IFSC Code is an 11-digit branch code used in India. When sending funds in INR to India, the IFSC Code and the SWIFT Code are required.

For more details on which codes are required, please see the below chart.

Country in which bank branch is situated
受取銀行の所在国名
Currency
通貨
IBAN Bank / Branch code
銀行・支店番号
SWIFT Number of digit
桁数
United States / アメリカ USD ABA number (Fed wire/Routing number) 9
Great Britain / イギリス GBP Sort code 6
Canada / カナダ CAD Transit number +
Institution number or / または Routing number
Transit number +
Institution number:5+3 Routing number:9
Australia / オーストラリア AUD BSB number 6
New Zealand / ニュージーランド NZD BSB number 6
India / インド INR IFSC IFSC:11
SWIFT:8 or / または11
Europe / ヨーロッパ EUR IBAN:Max34 最大34桁
SWIFT:8 or / または 11
Sweden / スウェーデン SEK IBAN:Max34 最大34桁
SWIFT:8 or / または 11
Switzerland / スイス CHF IBAN:Max34 最大34桁
SWIFT:8 or / または 11
Mexico / メキシコ 通貨問わず
Regardless of the Currency
18
  • 口座番号欄に CLABEをご記入ください
  • Please fill CLABE in the account number field
UAE / アラブ首長国連邦
Croatia / クロアチア
Jordan / ヨルダン
Kuwait / クウェート
Pakistan / パキスタン
Qatar / カタール
Guatemala / グアテマラ(ガテマラ)
IBAN:Max34 最大34桁
SWIFT:8 or / または 11

Important points on the GoRemit Overseas Remittance Service

  • In order to use the GoRemit Overseas Remittance Service (GoRemit), you need to apply in advance.

<Overseas Remittance by transfer to our designated collection account>

  • When making transfers to our designated collection account, funds received by 3:00 p.m. on business days will be remitted after converted from yen to the foreign currency using the GoRemit TTS (Telegraphic Transfer Selling) exchange rate for that day. If yen funds arrive after 3:00 p.m., they will be converted and remitted on the immediately following business day using the GoRemit TTS exchange rate for that (the following) day.
  • In cases when Yen is the denominated remittance currency, funds received by 3:00 p.m. will be processed on the immediately following business day. Funds received after 3:00 p.m. will be processed on the business day after the immediately following business day.
  • The remittance fee is JPY 2,000 per remittance and is not dependent on the amount you remit. For remittances in Japanese yen, an additional lifting fee of 0.1% of the remittance amount (minimum charge of JPY 1,500) will be charged in addition to the JPY 2,000. Domestic transfer fees are borne by the customer.

<Overseas Remittance from PowerFlex accounts (for individual customers)>

If you wish to make remittances with the GoRemit Overseas Remittance Service by withdrawing funds directly from your PowerFlex account, you will need to register your PowerFlex account with the GoRemit app separately in advance.

  1. Remittance from Yen Deposit accounts
    • When making a foreign currency remittance by withdrawing from your PowerFlex Yen Deposit account, remittance request instructions received before 3:00 p.m. on a business day will be remitted after converted from yen to the foreign currency using the GoRemit TTS exchange rate for that day. In cases when Yen is the denominated remittance currency, remittances will be processed on the immediately following business day. (Please note that foreign currency-denominated remittance request instructions cannot be sent after 3:00 p.m.. Yen-denominated remittance requests may be sent after 3:00 p.m., however funds will be remitted on the business day after the immediately following business day.)
    • The remittance fee is JPY 2,000 per remittance, and is not dependent on the amount you remit.
  2. Remittance from Foreign Currency Deposit accounts
    • When making a foreign currency remittance by withdrawing from your PowerFlex Foreign Currency Deposit account, remittance request instructions received by 3:00 p.m. on a business day will be remitted on the following business day. For remittance request instructions received after 3:00 p.m., we will remit 1 day after the following business day.
    • The remittance fee is JPY 4,000 per remittance, and is not dependent on the amount you remit.
    • Intermediary banks overseas may deduct fees. In addition, beneficiary banks in some countries may also levy charges.
    • Depending on the beneficiary country and bank, funds will typically arrive within 1-3 business days after we make the remittance, however screening processes and local banking practices on the beneficiary end may cause delays in some cases.

  • Intermediary banks overseas may deduct fees. In addition, beneficiary banks in some countries may also levy charges.
  • Depending on the beneficiary country and bank, funds will typically arrive within 1-3 business days after we make the remittance, however screening processes and local banking practices on the beneficiary end may cause delays in some cases.