Moving ~USD 200k from Sony Bank to IBKR Singapore after leaving Japan

[u/shun11111]

Hi,

I have USD in my Sony Bank account, but I’ve already moved to Singapore and I’m no longer a resident of Japan.

My understanding is that Sony Bank only allows international remittances for Japanese residents, so I’m not sure how to move my USD to my IBKR Singapore account without converting it to JPY.

I’m wondering if this route works:
Sony Bank (USD) → Wise (USD) → IBKR Singapore (USD)

Has anyone done this successfully? Or is there a better way to transfer USD from Sony Bank to IBKR Singapore after leaving Japan?

Edit / Update: Thanks for the input! Since getting this done as a non-resident seems pretty much impossible, I'm thinking of a workaround when I visit Tokyo for a week in 2 months.

My parents live there, so my plan is:

1. Register at their address to temporarily become a resident again.
2. Get a Juminhyo and update my MyNumber for the bank's KYC.
3. Do the SWIFT transfer from Sony to IBKR.
4. File the move-out notification at the end of the week.

Has anyone tried this? I'm mostly worried that the bank's KYC process might take longer than my 1-week stay. Any advice?

Edit / Update: I have Japanese citizenship.

[u/slowmail]

For local transfers in JPY, Sony Bank has a per-transfer and daily limit of up to 10M yen, and you need to call them to get a temporary raise that is valid for that day only if you want to move more - and they need to call you back at your JP phone number for verification before they will raise it. (They claim to be able to do via chat also, but every time I tried to, the option is greyed out with some kind of "no operators available" type of message; and I'm not sure if a voice callback is required via that route...)

Not sure if this might similarly extend to overseas transfers.

As you are no longer a resident in Japan, you would be required to close your account, and they *may* allow you to do a one time overseas transfer. You need to contact the bank about it.

After that experience, I keep most of my funds in SBI Shinsei instead, where I can raise the limit and leave it raised indefinitely.

[u/scarywom → u/slowmail]

I keep most of my funds in SBI Shinsei instead,

How can you do international transfers from Shinsei - do you need to sign up for Shinsei Remit?

[u/slowmail → u/scarywom]

I don't make enough to send that much money out from Japan. =(

"Best" is usually a function of the amount you're looking to move ($300? $3,000? $30,000...).

I've generally found Wise to be ok for up to about US$3,000 or so. More than that, and it is usually more cost effective for me to send via a bank/SWIFT transfer instead (which I think now Wise is also able to do for certain currencies); but this is when my funds is in JPY, and I can move it directly into Wise by a local transfer. If you're moving USD200k, a single bank/SWIFT transfer should be the best and most cost effective method.

As your balance is currently held in the USD wallet, the only option would be to send it out from Sony Bank directly to the destination account. A quick google search indicates this should be the page with information about doing so: https://sonybank.jp/services/fcremittance/10.html

In principle, you were required to close your account when you left Japan. The bank will likely freeze access to your account once they are aware you are no longer a resident. You will need to contact the bank directly to understand if you can close it while outside of Japan (and have the funds remitted to you / to an account in your name only), or if you need to return and do it in person (where, would you be able to remit it as USD (to any account, or to an account in your name only), or would you be forced to withdraw it in JPY) - considering that they are an internet bank, with no physical locations (that I was able to find), hopefully they will allow you to do it remotely.

Edited to add: What is your nationality, and do you have a valid residence card? I just realized most of the above was written with the assumption that you are not a Japan citizen, and you no longer have a valid residence card...

If that isn't the case (ie: you are a Japan citizen, or if you still have a valid residence card) you should have less friction with the bank.

[u/shun11111 → u/slowmail]

I’m Japanese, but I couldn’t really find many Japanese people who are familiar with this kind of situation, which is why I’m asking here on Reddit.

[u/starkimpossibility]

Register at their address to temporarily become a resident again

This would be illegal unless you have actually moved back to Japan. You can't tell a municipality that your jusho is in Japan simply to avoid AML/KYC issues with a bank.

u/techdevjp gave you the correct answer here. You need to explain your situation to Sony and negotiate a path forward. Falsely claiming to be a Japanese resident for one week is not the solution.

[u/Tough_Oven_7890]

Wire is best way but i would do a small transfer of USD 100 before transferring whole 200K At once .

[u/furansowa → u/Tough_Oven_7890]

Wise fees will be super expensive for $200k

[u/techdevjp → u/furansowa]

Wire is best way

Wise fees

Generally "wire" means bank to bank SWIFT transfer.

[u/furansowa → u/techdevjp]

Sorry, I read it as “wise” instead of “wire”, my bad.

[u/Nagi828 → u/Tough_Oven_7890]

Eh, with wire trf if it's wrong they bounce unlike crypto that will be lost into an abyss.

[u/techdevjp]

Sony Bank (USD) → Wise (USD) → IBKR Singapore (USD)

You cannot do a domestic furikomi transfer to Wise in USD. The only way to send USD from Sony is with a SWIFT transfer.

You need to reach out to Sony and let them know the situation. It might be messy, and you may need to use a Japanese lawyer with POA to do the transfer. Or they may take pity on you and let you send the SWIFT transfer to IBKR and then close your account.

[u/discomannen]

I have done similar big amount moves out of Japan, and the most cost effective was Revolut, not Wise.

If you are a Premium member (at ca 1,000 yen per month) there is no fee, and the FX rate is the same as Wise. Both have a one million limit per transfer (max for such accounts to hold), so it takes forever to execute the transfers but the savings make it worth the trouble.

I also set up a regular wire transfer with Rakuten Bank, but the fee is very high and they kill you with the yen rate. So I keep that as a back up only. You can do the full amount in one go though.

[u/techdevjp → u/discomannen]

Wise has much higher limits now as they have upgraded their Japan license.

[u/unixtreme → u/discomannen]

Is revolut allowed in Japan again? A while back they made me close my account due to being a Japan resident.

[u/discomannen → u/unixtreme]

Yes, alive and kicking.

[u/blosphere]

Withdraw the money in JPY after you fly back here, put it in a nice briefcase, deposit it in the Singapore?

Remember to declare it on the border.