Pay pal, Money and Japan

[DustyJones]

SO Ive run into a bit of a problem. . .

First things first, I live in Japan and I am working here.

I dont have an american credit card

I dont have a Japanese credit card

its pretty difficult to get a japanese credit card, basically if your not Japanese. . . .it aint happenin

Pay pal doesnt allow you to transfer funds to a pay pal account from your bank, it only allows transfers from a pay pal account to a Japanese bank account.

so basically I cant use pay pal, and cant buy or sell anything online.

I need help finding an alternative to pay pal
preferbly using funds from my bank to do international online purchases, and selling etc. . ..

I already have Ideas for muses and I am currently working on them but, without the ability to move money. . .I can do anything that would bring money in (I.e. electronic payment, google ads, websites, etc.) so if anyone could help me with this, that would be great.

thanks!

[Sven]

www.moneybookers.com

Have tried them for one transaction, they took way too long to have things set up for me to take out the payment that I had received so I left immediately afterwards. They are cheaper which may explain part of the problem.

I do not know about the Japan thing though...

[jamesnash]

hmmm. You should try using moneybookers then. I hav used it and its reliable too.There are many different approaches to earning income online, one potentially effective one can be to create content rich niche sites make money on the internet (http://bizmarketingideas.com/fast-traffic/)

[kamakiri]

You could try checking facts and your local bank first.

[DustyJones]

Sorry for the late reply been sick lately

Ill check out money bookers

@kamakiri
Can you elaboarte more on that?

I have *fact checked* with my local bank...

Could you please elaborate more? it says that you live in Japan too, do you have any tips or are you just trying to get a rise out of someone?

[kamakiri]

I was pretty direct:

1. Walk into a bank (department store cards are easy as well)
2. Apply for a credit card

Need any more elaboration? The only person who seems to be "getting a rise" are the idiots who told you that there is some sort of discrimination in the Japanese banking system.

[DustyJones]

well I guess im the idiot then, thanks to the other guys that offered assistance without being pricks, ill be using your advice. . .

to kamakiri...whatever.

[kamakiri]

Good attitude. I knew I shouldn't have bothered to reply in the first place.

Never said you were an idiot, although it is clear that you are not an original thinker. Going along the same lines of thinking as everyone, ie, "I can't get a card because I am not Japanese" is the surest way to limit your success.

[Sven]

C'mon Kam! Do not blame someone for not knowing something, even if to you it seems stupid not to know it.

If you give answers you open yourself to critique just as much as when you ask a question. If you do not like the question, do not answer! Just go sit on your typing fingers and then go do something else.

[kamakiri]

Kind of surprising here Sven. Would you rather I agreed with the unfounded idea that somehow Japanese banks are racist and deny non-Japanese some of the basic services they offer? That is laughable.

Not knowing something is perfectly fine and acceptable. Blaming ignorance on racism is where I really draw the line.

[TimW]

When I lived in Tokyo (1989-1990), Paypal was but someone's dream. Direct deposit and my ATM Card were how I dealt with things...sent money home via International Money Orders.

I find it hard to believe that there isn't a single bank in Japan that will not issue you a credit card, or allow PayPal money to be dumped into an account accessible via ATM card.

[Sven]

Kind of surprising here Sven. Would you rather I agreed with the unfounded idea that somehow Japanese banks are racist and deny non-Japanese some of the basic services they offer? That is laughable.

Not knowing something is perfectly fine and acceptable. Blaming ignorance on racism is where I really draw the line.

Where did the blaming ignorance on racism come from? This has passed me by totally. But that could be my limited understanding of English. Or yours. Or everyone's...

[TimW]

Where did the blaming ignorance on racism come from? This has passed me by totally.

From the OP:

"its pretty difficult to get a japanese credit card, basically if your not Japanese. . . .it aint happenin"

The very strongly implied meaning that ONLY Japanese will get credit cards short of Divine Intervention.

Banks want to make money. If one can show employment/income and stability, there should be no reason why a bank wouldn't issue a credit card. At the very least, they will issue ATM cards, meaning any money that PayPal transfers to his Japanese bank account will be available.

[Sven]

Well, I guess that one could call that racism. But it is definitely not how I read it so I guess there may be some cultural differences between being American and being Dutch (or being me) playing up here.

And no, that is not racist either. Or at least not meant that way.

[TimW]

"American" and "Dutch" aren't races. They're nationalities. :)

[Sven]

True. But still, I think that this misunderstanding came from cultural differences that are easy to forget as "we are all westeners".

[maxpr]

True. But still, I think that this misunderstanding came from cultural differences that are easy to forget as "we are all westeners".

Having spent a lot of time in Germany, France and England...I can definitively state that the umbrella term "Westerners" is extremely loose and over-used when lumping Americans into the same boat as "Europeans"...

Even funnier when you hear people refer to people from Europe as "Europeans" as if they are a common country, people, culture and language. Most European countries are still relatively insular like states in the US.

By the way Sven, I check out your blog the other day, really good stuff. That CNC router was awesome!!! Makes me want to go to trade school to learn a technical trade! This business degree really does not suit me so well :(

I guess that is what happens when you are the son of a machinist.

[maxpr]

Maybe this is a noob question but what is stopping you from having a US account and credit/debit card? A lot of banks allow you to apply online these days.

You could have the card sent to a US address of a relative who could activate it through an ATM. Then send the card to you in Japan...?

Mine works fine making transactions in Europe. In fact my PayPal account is linked to a small regional bank account and it was not a problem. I have also used PayPal in the past to make payments for my .de website via a German domain provider.

I am not sure you are from the US, I just assumed that by the way.

[Gojippo]

Hi all and sorry for the thread revival.

I also live in Japan and it IS hard to get a credit card here. It doesn't involve racism or anything else like that, because it is hard for some Japanese to get one too.

To make a card, you need to have a stable work as a seisha-in (full time employee), and to work there for at least 2-3 years. It doesn't work if you just got your job or if you are working there for too short. It may also be easier to get a card according to your revenues.
Some banks like Citibank DO refuse the opening of foreign currency accounts to foreigners. I don't know why, but it's like this.

Also note that it may be easier to get a card not from a bank, but from big department stores like Parco or Marui. I got my first one from Rakuten, the best and biggest online shop in Japan.

Don't know if it helps but good luck !