Golloyds - International Money Transfer Service Review

[JNT]

If you need to transfer money from Japan to your home country Golloyds https://www.golloyds.com/index/en is a good option. I tried the service myself and give it high marks for my positive experience.

Step 1) I submitted my account application via the web.

Step 2) I I filled out the required documents and mailed it to them. If you are approved for an account they will mail you back with an acknowledgment you are approved and instructions on how to transfer money.

Step 3) From your Japanese bank account you need to transfer or furikomi the money to an intermidiary account they set up for you. Golloyds will then wire the money from the intermediary account to your home country bank account once they receive your furikomi. This system works very well if you have a Shinsei bank account because you get a certain number of free furikomi transfers a month for me it’s 5. Using online banking it is possible to furikomi transfer money from your Shinsei account to the Golloyds account they have set up for you. This lets you skip the need to go to an ATM machine to do the Furkikomi

Cost: Golloyds charges only a flat rate of 2000Yen for this service. Searching around the different options available a common figure you see is 4000Yen per transfer so Golloyds is very competitive price wise. The other cost you will need to deal with is the fee your home bank will charge. For Canadian banks its usually about $15 Canadian. Total cost to you is 2000Yen plus $15. You can see what your home country bank will likely charge on the Golloyds website

Speed: The money successfully showed up in my account the very next day. No delays no screw ups.

Exchange Rates: It is possible to see what exchange rates Golloyds is offering on their website the rates are usually posted at around 10AM Japan time. They also offer a service where they mail each days rates to you by email.

Based on my experience I recommend this money transfer service.

Visit the site Japan News Today for more Japan related information.

[cloa513]

XE - The World's Favorite Currency and Foreign Exchange Site

[Sangetsu]

I find it less expensive to use Paypal. I simply linked my Paypal account to my JP Bank Visa debit card, and email the payment to a second paypal account. The transaction fee is much less than 2000 yen, and with the current exchange rate it works out to be nearly free. Once at my second Paypal account, I simply transfer it to my America bank account. It's not instant, but it's easy and it works.

[BjornTobyWilde]

I agree with JNT. I think it's easiest to use Go Lloyds but I found it a real hassle doing it from a UFJ ATM. Shinsei (and apparently Citibank too) have English online banking, so you can do a transfer to your Go Lloyds account without having to struggle through the Kanji. The application was easy too.

I used to get really nervous each time that I'd done something wrong and the money was going to go astray.　Never actually had a problem though.

This is a pretty good article on the topic.

[ChirsZ]

Originally Posted by Sangetsu

I find it less expensive to use Paypal. I simply linked my Paypal account to my JP Bank Visa debit card, and email the payment to a second paypal account. The transaction fee is much less than 2000 yen, and with the current exchange rate it works out to be nearly free. Once at my second Paypal account, I simply transfer it to my America bank account. It's not instant, but it's easy and it works.

Which bank did you do this with? I set up a second paypal, a new bank account with UFJ and applied for a debit card, but only got a cash card that I can't link to the paypal account. How did you go about getting the debit card?

[Sangetsu]

Originally Posted by ChirsZ

Which bank did you do this with? I set up a second paypal, a new bank account with UFJ and applied for a debit card, but only got a cash card that I can't link to the paypal account. How did you go about getting the debit card?

The first thing I did when I arrived in Japan was to open a bank account at the Japan Post Bank. I also applied for a JP Bank Visa card, which I received a few weeks later.