Hi.  Any tips for getting the best exchange rate for yen?  I'm really dismayed by Community Bank in Iwakuni, the authorized bank on base for buying yen. Whatever the world market rate is, Community Bank gives 2 yen worse. This really p!ss@s me off cause even if they were to offer the official rate, there is a  profit margin built in so that "extra" 2 yen is just added profit for the bank at our expense.

The best deal I get is by using the ATM at 7-11.  I get the full exchange rate, the ATM charges no fee, and my bank lets me do 2 such withdrawals per month with no fee.  However, the maximum withdrawal is 50,000 yen a pop, so I can only get 100,000 yen monthly this way. Since I live offbase, 100K isn't enough. 

I get a good exchange rate with my credit card, but have to pay a 1% international fee..  Or, I can buy travelers checks on base, and cash them in town for a better rate than onbase, but there's a 1% fee to buy the checks. 

Has anyone found a better way to get a good exchange rate? Something that beats the crummy rate offered on base?

********* Update **********

I think I posted on another discussion & I'll mention it here also... I found I can withdraw more than the 50,000 yen per transaction at the 7-11 ATM. They have preprogrammed amounts which max out at 50K, but there is also an onscreen keypad where you can manually enter withdrawal amounts. I've taken as much as 90,000 yen in a single withdrawal, but usually it limits me to 80K. Some of my friends have tried & they've found different daily limits. I still get charged no fee & a good exchange rate, so this is my preferred way of exchanging money.

Wow, I didn't know that tip about the 7-11 ATM machines. Is the bank Community Bank that allows you two withdrawals a month without a fee, or another bank?

No, it's an obscure credit union I use in the States: ECCU. I'm a contractor and my pay goes to that credit union, but getting hold of the cash while avoiding exorbitant fees is a challenge.  My Navy retired pay goes to NFCU which has a branch in Iwakuni.

So, if you use the 7-11 ATM with a CB or NFCU card you get hozed with the fee?

Posted By WutUpWitDat on 24 Feb 2010 07:23 PM
So, if you use the 7-11 ATM with a CB or NFCU card you get hozed with the fee?

Probably. Few banks offer fee-free international ATM withdrawals.  USAA might; I'm not sure.

I have never found a NO FEE atm withdrawl. Why would they do this, and How?

Most of the ATM’s are private corporation, or 3rd party owned. They just tap into networks, and provide services throughout Japan. Same as the USA. I doubt there are no fee ones. I asked my wife, and she doesn’t know of any either.

I dunno. I use the one at 7/11 right off base in Iwakuni. The receipt shows no fee, my bank statement shows no fee (plus it's my bank's policy to allow 2 per month) and when I calculate the exchange rate there is no fee built in. I have no idea why or how they do it.

Best way to do it is to get travler checks and cash them at Japanese banks. You get a better rate then if you used cash. I understand the bank you use isint in Iwakuni but maybe you should look into getting your company to start depositing your money into NFCU so you can get the travelers checks. It does save alot in the long run I used to do it when i was in the navy.

The lady at the Housing Office recommended getting Travelers checks at Navy then exchanging them at the Japanese Post Office.  She said that was the best way to go, especially when you are needing huge amounts of money (like house deposits). 

My reply is the same as the previous two answers, but I would like to mention how it works.

If you take cash to local Japanese bank, they will add two yen (2%) to the global rate when they are buying back yen, and substract two yen (2%) whey they sell you yen. They are here to do business, and they need to make money.

However, if you have a travelers check in dollar (or even in yen!) the bank will not charge you the two yen (2%) fee. So, they do it for free? No, the exchange fee is included in the 1% traveler's check fee. So instead of paying 2 %, you have to pay 1% fee at the bank (or certain post office as mentioned by Tirani) you purchased T/C. T/C are operated by major credit card companies such as VISA, MC, and AMEX.

1% difference may not be large, but if you are exchanging large amount of money; for example, $15,000 for house deposits, or car payment, it could mean the difference in $150. Also, it adds up over the length of your tour.

>> Few banks offer fee-free international ATM withdrawals. USAA might; I'm not sure.<<

Yes, but not really. The ATM will charge you the fee, but USAA refunds all ATM fees at the end of the billing cycle - so at the end of the month, the ATM usage fee will have been free

I have the phone numbers of Yokohama bank, community bank and the outside money changer on speed dial.
The community bank is only good for days where there was a severe drop in the rate. There an additional day lag with their exchange rate compared to everyone else.

Yokohama bank usually gives one-two yen less than the international rate. They have three rates, the best is for wire transfers, next best is with travelers check and the worst with cash.

The outside money changers mostly deal only with cash.

I have found that there is less than a 1% difference between the money changers and the Yokohama bank travelers check rate. So, I never use travelers checks anymore. When the travelers check rate was 0.1% it was worth it, it is not worth it now. If you have an AMEX card you can get checks for almost no cost... But for some reason this is at only certain AMEX offices, none in Japan.

For very large transactions, I do wire transfers to my account at Yokohama bank for a set $25 fee. You can do the math. $25 plus the 1 yen difference... the wire transfer are better for usually anything greater than $5000 But the draw backs of waiting for a bank rep, and the delay 1-3 days of receiving the cash at Yokohama bank can make it a PITA.

Nice little jump in the dollar over the past 24 hours.....went from 76.7950 to nearly 80Y/dollar! Let's hope the trend continues.

I think it will be a short lived rally. The currency market is reacting to the Bank of Japan intervening. It might last a day or so before resuming the Yen strengthening trend.

community bank rate is at .75 today.
Where are you gettin this .80 rate?

Posted By Tricia on 08-04-2011 7:18 PM
community bank rate is at .75 today.
Where are you gettin this .80 rate?

It's 79.975 right now on yahoo:

http://finance.yahoo.com/currency-c...=JPY;amt=1

It can take a couple days for Community Bank to catch up.  They usually update their rate after 3:00PM.  My guess is, it'll go up a couple yennies at Community Bank tomorrow if the dollar holds steady. 

Community Bank is the biggest rip-off going with regards to exchange rate. If you're changing your money there, it's like walking away from 2-3% of your paycheck. There are other discussions under the "Finance" forum that talk about the best places to exchange your money. For me, I use the 7-11 ATMs and get the "official" exchange rate which is several percent higher than community bank, and no fees (other than that darn 1% Visa card international fee.)

Posted By InJapan on 08-04-2011 5:10 PM

The community bank is only good for days where there was a severe drop in the rate. There an additional day lag with their exchange rate compared to everyone else.

As InJapan pointed out, there are times when you can time the market just right and Community Bank can have a better rate than what you might get out in town.  If there is a drop in the rate and you go to Community Bank before they updated their rate at 3PM, then you will be able to get the better rate before the new rate takes affect.  I've experienced this a couple times myself.  There have been times when Community Bank is the same as the online rate because the rate has not been updated to the new rate yet.  But, in cases like right now, when the rate spiked from 76Y to 80Y online, Community Bank lags and won't be updated probably until tomorrow......and, you might get stuck with a crappy exchange rate from the previous day's rate.  Just always make sure you check the rate wherever you're going because you never know which one will have the best rate out there. 

Here is Community Banks rate online:

http://www.dodcommunitybank.com/hom...y_exchange

Remember that it updates at 3PM at the ATM, so you may not get that rate shown online if it changed. 

Great discussion recently. Enjoyed reading about new things, and new ways to play this yen strategy game...

I checked after 3 today and the rate was still .75 This is my first rent to pay. I know thier rate is not the greatest but when you do not have time I have to pay for convience. This is the last time I go to them for rent money.
If I get yen with my atm at the post office is there a limit on how much I can get? Do I need to make several trips over a few days to get the amount I need? I need alot of yen.

Posted By Tricia on 08-04-2011 10:04 PM
I checked after 3 today and the rate was still .75 This is my first rent to pay. I know thier rate is not the greatest but when you do not have time I have to pay for convience. This is the last time I go to them for rent money.

The rate didn't spike until this afternoon, so you wouldn't have seen a difference in the rate yet at the ATM.  The rate you got today was reflecting yesterday's rate of 77Y/dollar online (minus 2Y taken by Community Bank giving you the 75Y rate).  I would be willing to bet that the rate will likely change to around 77Y or 78Y tomorrow at Community bank seeing how we're trading at over 80Y/dollar online right now.  We shall see. 

Nonetheless, I feel your pain.  My rent always comes due when the rate is low. 

My wife got 77.4 today at the money changers.

where is money changers and can you bring them american dollars or do you need to get travelers checks?
I have to buy a refrigerator soon and i am holding off geting the yen for a better rate.

At Yokosuka the are located just off base. One on the street across from the main gate and another just off blue street.

Capital One does not charge any fee whatsoever for credit card transaction. I have compared transactions in many countries and found that you get the actual interbank rate. You can find this at oanda.com, for example.

Capital One Bank does the same for cash but charges a $2 fee per transaction.

My other bank (a local bank in the DC area) used to offer the interbank rate with no fees for ATM but started charging a 1% fee in mid 2010. This happened after they were put on the OTS watch list. They told me that they used to cover this fee for the customers, as it is charged by VISA/PLUS. Whether this is true, I am not sure.

In Japan, I found that Citibank charges about 1 yen. They have multi-currency accounts so you move the USD to the JPY account. If you change over 200,000 yen they charge a spot rate. This can be worse than the regular rate if the exchange rate dropped during the day.

In summary, if you are paid in USD then the best bet is to use your Cap One CC as much as possible.

>>In summary, if you are paid in USD then the best bet is to use your Cap One CC as much as possible.<<

And the double airline points on my venture card aren't bad either