Stache wrote:

> I have been researching the same thing, but in reverse.  Citibank seems
> to be the best deal around if you open an account with them.  Checkout
> their web site it explains it pretty good.

We've got a couple of Citibank Japan accounts and have had them since 
Citi had a good reputation ... unlike the one it has now.  Now that 
they're on their fifth or sixth major violation of the banking code and 
the FSA has investigators almost permanently stationed in their offices, 
you have to wonder what notes are being taken and where the account 
information is going.

They screwed up REAL BAD during Golden Week and are being investigated 
for bad procedures all over again. They did a mid-week payment run and 
double billed all of the accounts that they were supposed to send money 
from and overdrew a bunch of them. Their computers then declared all of 
the overdrawn accounts to be empty and closed them all.  If there was a 
credit card attached to the account, it was canceled.  The problem 
happened 2~5 May and they didn't tell any account holders about the 
problem until around the 15th.  Some jackass complained to the FSA -- 
which is the absolute dumbest thing you can do -- they won't allow 
Citibank to correct any of the problems until they investigate every 
single transaction that took place on those days ... one transaction at 
a time.  I've heard that most of those accounts still haven't been 
reinstated.

In spite of this happy, happy, joy, joy we keep the accounts because we 
can park Euros and dollars there and my Clients don't always have to 
worry about paying me in yen.  You can do the same thing at Shinsei (and 
I'd prefer to), but Shinsei doesn't have overseas branches that a client 
can walk into and say "I want to pay a bill to this other account in 
your Japan Branch."

CL

> 
> Stache
> 
> 
> John R. Yamamoto-Wilson wrote:
>> What do people here recommend? In the past, I've used the Japanese Post
>> Office, Lloyds Bank, and some other bank (can't remember which one offhand).
>>
>> I haven't sent money for a while, but, as I recall it, the handling
>> charges may be only the tip of the iceberg. More important - especially
>> if one is sending large amounts - is the exchange rate.
>>
>> If I recall correctly, the post office simply used to check the exchange
>> rate for that day and convert the money from yen into dollars or
>> whatever at the going rate, with no percentile or commission. Is that
>> still the case the case these days? I did a bit of googling, but
>> couldn't seem to find the info.
>>
>> Lloyds, on the other hand, is currently offering an exchange rate of
>> 214.46 yen to the pound sterling, whereas http://www.xe.com/ucc/ gives
>> today's rate as 211.145 yen to the pound. That would add up to a
>> difference of some 65 pounds sterling ($120) per million yen. Lloyds
>> also charges a commission of 2000 yen per currency exchange. But then,
>> this seems to be their exchange rate for cash; it isn't clear from their
>> website what rate they would apply to an international transfer.
>>
>> Can anyone confirm which method offers the best *overall* value,
>> including both handling charges and exchange rates?
>>
>> John
>