PayPal alternatives
Nora Stevens Heath
I find myself with a sour taste in my mouth re: PayPal and have begun to
research alternatives. I have one client, an older gentleman in Japan,
who pays me a mere \11,000 or so every two months by credit card via
PayPal. Very occasionally, another client or two (often one-offs) will
use PayPal as well; because they're all based in Japan and pay in yen,
it's imperative that whatever option I choose accepts foreign-
denominated payment amounts.
I have looked into Stripe and WePay. Both are great services with
competitive fees, but they can't handle an invoice in yen being billed
to a yen-based credit card. I believe Google Checkout is the same way.
Knowing how stringent bank policies have become in Japan, is there any
Japan-based alternative that can accept yen payments and wire them to a
U.S. account? (I expect the fees will be monstrous...)
Thanks for any ideas/advice--
Nora
--
Nora Stevens Heath <no...@fumizuki.com>
J-E translations: http://www.fumizuki.com/
Rene
Hi, everyone--
I have looked into Stripe and WePay. Both are great services with
competitive fees, but they can't handle an invoice in yen being billed
to a yen-based credit card. I believe Google Checkout is the same way.
Knowing how stringent bank policies have become in Japan, is there any
Japan-based alternative that can accept yen payments and wire them to a
U.S. account? (I expect the fees will be monstrous...)
Thanks for any ideas/advice--
Nora
Well, there is the "Seven Bank" now. No idea how cheap it is,but 7-11 is certainly convenient:
http://www.sevenbank.co.jp/soukin/en/?gclid=COTDntiq_q0CFUcmpAodSwKCwA
Regards
Rene von Rentzell
Brian Chandler
> Hi, everyone--
>
> I find myself with a sour taste in my mouth re: PayPal and have begun to
> research alternatives. I have one client, an older gentleman in Japan,
> who pays me a mere \11,000 or so every two months by credit card via
> PayPal. Very occasionally, another client or two (often one-offs) will
> use PayPal as well; because they're all based in Japan and pay in yen,
> it's imperative that whatever option I choose accepts foreign-
> denominated payment amounts.
that any US-based scheme for credit card proxying will have lower fees
than a Japan-based one, because... oh, because Americans like
borrowing money more or something, so there's more to be made in
interest.
We use PayPal, not without complaints, but generally successfully, and
I haven't seen anything to compete on fees. For generalised Japan-
based settlements (I mean 決済), there's paygent.co.jp I noticed
recently. But I couldn't immediately get any clue to their fee
structure from the website. (PayPal is at least pretty upfront about
things like this.)
HTH
Brian Chandler
Nora Stevens Heath
> It might help to know the *specific* problem with PayPal.
It's worked fine for me; my objection is more on ethical grounds:
Matthew Schlecht
Hi, everyone--
I have looked into Stripe and WePay. Both are great services with
competitive fees, but they can't handle an invoice in yen being billed
to a yen-based credit card. I believe Google Checkout is the same way.
You could look into Moneybookers [ http://www.moneybookers.com ]
which states that it is currently morphing into something called Skrill.
I had used them earlier on because they accepted payments from Russia, where I had clients for awhile.
I haven't used them for some years now because I don't have the Russian clients any longer, and I make do with PayPal and bank transfers. From the Moneybookers web site:
Transfer Money Internationally
Can't pop into your local bank? Don't want to spend a fortune in transfer and exchange fees? This is your low cost solution for sending and receiving funds internationally, whether it's family, friends or simply to your own bank account when you're abroad in over 40 currencies.
I don't know if one of the 40 currencies is yen, but it would make sense that the yen is included.
As with PayPal and other similar services, it is best to get a personal account as opposed to a business account, because fees are lower in the former. I was doing fine until I got a payment that exceeded their limit for personal accounts. Then, they froze the account until I provided a scan of my business license and provided them with a description of my business. They then unfroze the account and started charging higher fees. I think they had taken regulatory heat about people who received online gambling winnings and had worked out a way to avoid paying taxes thereon, and became sticklers as a result.
Matthew Schlecht
Newark, DE, USA
Nora Stevens Heath
> You could look into Moneybookers [ http://www.moneybookers.com ]
> which states that it is currently morphing into something called Skrill.
This looks promising, although their fee structure is a little confusing
and their FAQ is currently nonexistent. I had heard of the company
before, chiefly in a paying-for-freelance-work context, so it might just
work. Thanks for reminding me.
I may be able to get away with withdrawing my money from PayPal as soon
as it comes through so they can't make any (more) interest off of it; of
course, I can't do that before they've already taken their cut in fees.
Ah, well. Of course, my main PayPal client is happy to wait 'til I have
everything figured out.
Thanks again--
Hiroko Yoshida
Moneybookers is capable of handling Yen. And you can
register bank accounts as well.
As you told already, their FAQ is nonexistent, so currently
I cannot figure out how to register my debit card properly.
---------------
Hiroko Yoshida(吉田博子）TRANSLABO(chemistry,etc)
http://p450.hiho.jp/index.html
(2012/02/02 23:05), Nora Stevens Heath wrote:
> This looks promising, although their fee structure is a little confusing
> and their FAQ is currently nonexistent. I had heard of the company
> before, chiefly in a paying-for-freelance-work context, so it might just
> work. Thanks for reminding me.
>
> I may be able to get away with withdrawing my money from PayPal as soon
> as it comes through so they can't make any (more) interest off of it; of
> course, I can't do that before they've already taken their cut in fees.
> Ah, well. Of course, my main PayPal client is happy to wait 'til I have
> everything figured out.
--
Matthew Schlecht
As you told already, [Moneybookers'] FAQ is nonexistent, so currently I cannot figure out how to register my debit card properly.
They did have a helpful FAQ section in the past, but I didn't see it either when I visited recently.
acelee
Long time no see! I have an SMBC account that I can access and control
online, which is also linked to a Lloyds Remittance account. In
theory, the combination of the two would potentially give me the power
to transfer payments even if I didn't live in Japan, but I of course
have never tried this.
FWIW,
Mel Ok
Dr. M. S. Niranjan
per remittance.
If the sender has a Citibank account in Japan, it is more convenient and
cheaper (Yen 4000 or less), but not many people have a Citibank account
in Japan. If you have a Citibank account in Japan, then it is very easy
for anybody in Japan remit money to that account from any ATM.
I do not have any personal experience with the following, but I found
them by a search in Yahoo Japan. I hope these links are useful, but
please do not chastise me if they are not.
1. SBI Remit
https://www.remit.co.jp/MainAboutAutoRemittance.jsf?menuid=2&submenuid=2&lang=ja
2. Japan Post foreign remittance
http://www.jp-bank.japanpost.jp/kojin/tukau/kaigai/sokin/kj_tk_kg_sk_index.html
3. Docomo Money transfer
http://www.nttdocomo.co.jp/service/world/docomo_money_transfer/index.html
4. Discussion about JTB money transfer
http://www.interq.or.jp/world/naoto/benricho/transact.html
http://www.jtbmoneyt.com/MTV1/
The first of these two URLs discusses various options.for foreign
remittance from Japan.
5. A comparison of charges for foreign remittance from Japan
http://studyincanada.ciao.jp/shinan/money1.html
6. Another guide to foreign remittance from Japan
http://kaigaisokin.seesaa.net/
7. Yet another guide to foreign remittance from Japan
http://www.kaigaisokin.com/
8. Daikokuya Western Union
http://www.e-daikoku.com/moneytransfer/
There may be more.
If any of you know any of your customer companies in Japan remitting
your payment to you easily every month for a low remittance charge,
please share that information with me.
Thanks and sorry for not offering more authentic information.
Dr. M. S. Niranjan
Shiki @NC
I think is very reasonable and easy, though as List #5 says, it may
take more time to get the money than other choices. When I was in
school (US) my parents in Japan always sent me 仕送り and this was the
cheapest way. I had some Japanese friends here who said the same. They
raised the fee since, but it's still quite reasonable. You don't have
to have a bank account in Japan for this procedure, which is a plus,
too.
Shuko Jacobs
> 2. Japan Post foreign remittancehttp://www.jp-bank.japanpost.jp/kojin/tukau/kaigai/sokin/kj_tk_kg_sk_...
Nora Stevens Heath
there's going to be a lot of research involved before I make the plunge
with another service. I do receive international postal money orders
from a client who pays much less often than this fellow, and it works
well. As long as the fees doesn't take too much of a bite out of the
already low invoiced total...
John Stroman
I had an interesting experience with a subcontractor. Both of us are
in the US, and he requested payment by PayPal. I registered my
business bank account with PayPal for no fee. When I sent him
payments, however, a percentage of the payment was charged to his
account and subtracted. He talked to the people at PayPal and
discovered that when you open the Send Funds tab, the default is for
commercial transactions, but there is another tab marked Personal. If
you access the Personal tab and transfer funds through it, there is no
fee provided both sender and recipient have PayPal accounts linked to
bank accounts. I tried it, and the information was correct.
I have not looked at Japanese PayPal, but perhaps your customers are
using the default tab for commercial transactions, and PayPal charges
you a fee for that. I wonder if someone on this list can check to see
if PayPal plays by the same rules in Japan. If so, you can ask your
customers to transfer payment via the Personal tabl. You will still
have the currency exchange problem, but no fee for receiving funds.
John Stroman
Keith Wilkinson
http://injapan.gaijinpot.com/2012/01/09/seven-bank-japan-money-transfer-service-the-complete-overview/
http://www.westernunion.co.jp/en/index.php
http://www.fxcompared.com/money-transfers/japan.php
Keith
Nora Stevens Heath
> I have not looked at Japanese PayPal, but perhaps your customers are
> using the default tab for commercial transactions, and PayPal charges
> you a fee for that.
What if my client pays by clicking a PayPal button on (their invoice as
hosted on) my Website? That probably doesn't really give them a choice
as far as how to pay, since they're not making the first move to send
funds, but rather are acting in response to my request for funds.
Or I could be talking out of my *ahem*. It's been a long day/week.
Stephen Suloway
On Feb 2, 2012, at 16:34, Nora Stevens Heath wrote:
> What if my client pays by clicking a PayPal button on (their invoice
> as
> hosted on) my Website? That probably doesn't really give them a
> choice
> as far as how to pay, since they're not making the first move to send
> funds, but rather are acting in response to my request for funds.
>
> Or I could be talking out of my *ahem*. It's been a long day/week.
Without having any expertise on putting buttons on websites, I do know
the client would have to already have a PayPal account set up, which
in Japan at least involves registering a credit card (and maybe takes
a few hours or more).
HTH your lagging ahem ;-)
+++++
Stephen Suloway
pls
> Well, there is the "Seven Bank" now. No idea how cheap it is,but 7-11
> is certainly convenient:
Not quite cheap for small amounts, and they use Western Union for the
payouts (which may in some cases not be convenient for the recipient) - but
their service certainly looks like another step in the ongoing integration
of banks and convenience stores.
(In this context i'll add a tangential remark about my experience in
Taiwan: there are small/small-scale ATMs (physically small ATMs that offer
cash withdrawals but no deposits or bank book updates) in almost all
convenience stores, and the usage fees are - by Japanese standards -
"unbelievably" low: for example, withdrawals are free whenever i use an ATM
of the bank i have an account with, and less than 20JPY in cases i use them
to withdraw money from my postal savings account...)
Regards: Hendrik
.
--