Why I like using Wise (formally TransferWise) in Japan

In this article, let me explain why I enjoy using Wise (formerly TransferWise). Probably, you already know that Wise offers international money transfer service with very low transfer fee and real-time exchange rate.

But did you also know that Wise offers free opening of bank accounts across the globe? It's like having a local bank account in various countries of the world!

I find the services offered by Wise very useful, especially for those who need to deal with various currencies from time-to-time.

Let me explain more.

To whom am I writing this article?

This article is mainly for residents in Japan, who need to deal with more than two currencies from time-to-time. However, some portions of this article may also be useful for those planning to visit Japan.

Why am I writing this article?

To achieve a win-win for both you and me.

If you open a new account with Wise from the link shown below, you will get a fee-free transfer up to 75,000 JPY. (And I will also receive a reward when you transfer with Wise.)

Click here and apply for a new account with Wise.

I guess the offer will be shown in your local currency if you click the link from outside Japan.

Why I chose Wise

I have worked in several countries, and I am eligible to receive pension in EUR and GBP. However, because the number of years I have worked in those countries is not that long and thus the amount of pension I can receive should be very small from each country, further reduction due to commission charge has always been a headache.

To me, Wise is like a headache medicine. It’s like having a local bank account in each country I used to live. With Wise, I can receive pension like if I still live in that country. And I get some options to choose from:

Keep the pension unexchanged in my Wise account and withdraw cash in EUR and GBP from ATM with my Wise debit card (but trying to reduce the withdraw fee as possible), when I visit Europe and the UK.
Keep the pension unexchanged in my Wise account. When I visit Europe or the UK and want to buy something there, make the payment in EUR or GBP with my Wise debit card (so that there would be no transfer fee).
Transfer some portions to my bank account in Japan (with very low transfer fee and real-time exchange rate) and spend it as part of living cost in Japan when I retire. I might want to do this when I think JPY is cheap in market.

These options in my mind relieved my headache completely. I am indeed happy to hold an account with Wise.

By the way, note that Wise debit card also serves very well for frequent worldwide travellers. All the fee we pay to Wise is when currency exchange occurs.

So, this means there would be no fee if you withdraw cash or pay with Wise debit card in the local currency you hold in your Wise account. And even if you use Wise debit card while you don’t hold enough amount of the local currency in your Wise account, Wise will choose an appropriate currency in your account and do the exchange for you (with very low transfer fee and the real-time exchange rate). Very convenient. 😀

Activating Wise Debit Card in Japan

If you are a resident in Japan, perhaps you might want to activate your Wise debit card before travelling oversea to ensure there is no problem with your card. However, you might struggle a bit when activating your card, because I did.

Wise help page describes that if you got your card in Japan, then in Japan the activation is possible with one of these ATM providers: AEON, E-net, Daily Yamazaki. So I initially tried with E-Net, however I couldn't activate the card and I couldn't figure out why. But when I tried with AEON ATM, I managed to activate my Wise debit card. When I enquired for the balance, the ATM indicated the balance. And my Wise account page indicated that 0-JPY was withdrawn.

With AEON ATM, I also managed to withdraw cash without paying ATM usage fee.

I also found a blog (written in Japanese language) who also experienced the same activation problem as my case. What I've learnt from the blog is that it would be better to switch the screen to another language even if you can speak fluent Japanese.

That's all I wanted to write about activation. I hope you won't encounter an activation problem.

Visiting Japan

If you are visiting Japan, probably it would be better to activate your Wise debit card before travelling. In Japan, credit cards and debit cards are widely accepted, so you would probably pay with your Wise debit card in most cases.

On top of making payment with your Wise debit card, you might also want to carry a little cash just in case. Just to be on safe side, you might want to try withdrawing cash from ATM as soon as you arrive at international airport in Japan. Try to plan ahead how much JPY you would like to withdraw before visiting Japan, so that you don’t have to withdraw cash too many times.

There is a question which I can’t answer. When you use your Wise debit card to withdraw cash from ATM in Japan, could the ATM commission charge be different from mine (which I got in Japan)? I honestly don’t know, but just FYI, let me share with you what I have experienced with my Wise debit card.

When I tried withdrawing cash from ATM in Japan with my Wise debit card (which I got in Japan), as of February 2023:

AEON ATM:
As mentioned earlier, I managed to withdraw cash from AEON ATM without paying the commission fee.
You can search for AEON ATM locations from https://map.aeonbank.co.jp/aeonbank/?lang=en.
From the AEON web page, I can see that the ATM machine can be found at many of international airports in Japan.
E-net ATM:
With my Wise debit card, E-net ATM machine displayed the commission charge of 110JPY. Also, the machine asked me to specify a number of 10,000JPY notes that I wish to withdraw. So, I guess that the machine consists only 10,000JPY notes. In my case, I cancelled withdrawing cash because I didn’t want to pay the ATM commission charge.
There are many E-net ATM machines in Japan. You can search for E-net ATM locations from https://www.enetcom.co.jp/intl/en/.

Japan Post Bank ATM (known as Yuucho ATM in Japanese pronunciation):
With my Wise debit card, the ATM machine displayed the commission charge of 220JPY. So, in my case I cancelled withdrawing cash because I didn’t want to pay the ATM commission charge.
The detail is described in English at https://www.jp-bank.japanpost.jp/en/ias/en_ias_index.html. You can search for Japan Post Bank ATM locations from https://global.map.japanpost.jp/p/en/search/.

This is all the ATM machines I have tried so far. If you have found more convenient ones, please do not hesitate to leave a kind comment in this blog. 😊

I also recommend taking a look at how Wise webpage describes about ATM in Japan in https://wise.com/us/blog/atms-in-japan.

So, if you would like to open an account with Wise...

Click here and apply for it, and get a fee-free transfer up to 75,000 JPY. (I guess the amount would be shown in your local currency if you click the link from outside Japan.)

I hope you enjoyed this article!

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