Using ATM In Japan – Accepted Card, Fees And More …

If you’re traveling to Japan soon – or thinking about a longer-term stay, to work or study, you’ll need to get some cash to pay for everything you need while you’re there. Withdrawing your Yen – that’s Japanese local currency – from ATMs once you arrive is a common way to quickly get the local currency you need. If you’re planning on using ATM in Japan, here’s all you need to know.

1. International ATMs and where to find them

In Japan, there are only certain brands of ATMs that accept foreign cards. Always look for the word “International” on ATMs before you try it. Besides, not all ATMs operate 24/7 – some are inside bank branches and consequently only available during office hours.

So, to make it simple, try these following widely-used options if you’re struggling to find an ATM that will accept your card.

1.1 Seven ATM

Does the word Seven sound familiar to you? In fact, it comes from the same mother company as 7-Eleven and the slogan for this bank brand is “Always an ATM near you”. It can’t be more true because 7-Eleven is one of the largest convenience store chains in Japan providing about 25,260 ATMs all around Japan. Furthermore, you can find Seven Bank’s ATMs at not only 7-Eleven convenience stores but also shopping centers, train stations and international airports like Narita, Haneda, and Kansai Airport.

Seven Bank ATM

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A typical red-colored Seven Bank ATM can operate 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, and have up to 11 language options.

• Accepted card: Visa, Mastercard, Maestro, Cirrus, UnionPay, American Express, JCB, Discover, and Diners Club (Please be noted that your card may be unavailable with some ATMs even though you see the logos of the cards on the machines.)
• Find the nearest ATM: Seven Bank ATM locator

1.2 Post Office ATM

Japan Post Office ATM

There are more than 20,000 yucho, or post offices, in all parts of Japan. They are all equipped with bilingual ATMs that support most non-Japanese cards. However, one problem with Japan Postal ATMs is that they are quite rare than Seven Bank (nevertheless they may also be accessible in small towns without a 7-Eleven.)

Opening hours of each Post Bank ATM can vary vastly according to the location and different times of the year. This table below from the official website of Post Office Atm will explain more details.

• Accepted cards: including VISA, Visa Electron, Plus, Mastercard, Maestro, Cirrus, American Express, JCB, China Unionpay, and Discover (except a part of out-dated machines). Please note that certain Maestro cards with an IC chip currently cannot be used.
• Find the nearest ATM: JAPAN POST BANK ATM Finder

1.3 Bank ATM

Obviously, you can withdraw cash with foreign cards from the bank ATMs, not all but the main ones. Let us name a few:

MUFG Bank ATM

MUFG Bank

Since it is one of the Japanese’s largest banks, MUFG bank provides a bunch of services for foreign residents including withdrawing money. There are the bank’ ATMs in its branches, stations and shopping complex. The business hours will be according to the locations.

• Accepted cards: JCB, Unionpay, Discover for the most part and Visa and Mastercard with some of the ATMs.
• Find the nearest ATM: Branch Search

SMBC Trust Bank

It runs a distinct service called Prestia for foreigners, which was merged with Citibank in Japan 5 years ago. And in a few cases, when your card doesn’t work in 7-Bank and Japan Post Bank, you may want to try Prestia as it is really reliable and notable for accepting most of the international cards. But, one thing you may have to mind is that Prestia is only highly available in Tokyo. In other parts of the country, the opposite is true. There are only one seven branches in Kansai, three in Tokai, one in Hokkaido, and none in Tohoku.

• Accepted cards: JCB, Unionpay, Discover for the most part and Visa and Mastercard with some of the ATMs.
• Find the nearest ATM: Prestia ATM Search (Japanese only)

1.4 Others

Prestia ATM (SMBC Bank)

Another popular ATM brand belongs to E.Net. To be more specific, there are over 13,000 E-net ATMs all over Japan (around 2,100 in Tokyo) and they are available throughout a whole day. Good news! You may easily find this type of international ATMs in some other convenience stores such as Family Mart, MiniStop, and Daily Yamazaki along with some national supermarket chains like Maruetsu (usually 24 hours a day.

• Accepted card: VISA, Mastercard, Maestro, Cirrus, UnionPay, and JCB.
• Find the nearest ATM: E-Net Search

You will also come across one of 10,000 Lawson convenience stores with its signature blue color sign all over the country. Like the above brands, you can proceed with the transaction in some foreign languages ranging from Chinese, Korean, to English guidance, of course.

• Accepted card: VISA、MasterCard、UnionPay cards、JCB
  *Overseas bank cards connected to PLUS or Cirrus networks are also supported.
• Find the nearest ATM: Lawson Search

2. Using ATM in Japan to withdraw money

Though it is basically exactly like how you do in your country, a difference is you have to choose the language (English). Then press the button for “withdrawal” and click/ type in the amount of money you want. Remember to think in yen! So, here is a typical process:

• Step 1: Select the “Begin Transaction” (「取引開始」) button.
• Step 2: Insert the card into the ATM
• Step 3: Select your language
• Step 4: Type in the keypad to provide your information (if asked)
• Step 5: Tap some buttons following instructions on-screen
• Step 6: Take the card and transaction detail bill.
• Step 7: Take the money.

For details, watch some below videos explaining the process for each ATM brand.

How to use Postal ATM to withdraw money

How to use Seven Bank to withdraw money

3. Japanese ATM Fees & General Information

3.1 ATM Fees

Almost all ATMs in Japan will have usage fees, usually from around 110 yen to around 216 yen, (tax included) for international transactions. Moreover, this can quickly escalate (approximately 400 yen) if you exceed the withdrawal limit according to that brand regulation (see below). For some card issuers, additional fees may also apply, as much as $10 per use. Hence, consult with your bank for details. Otherwise, you can find out the going rates in NerdWallet.

3.2 Withdrawal limit

Many of you may wonder how much you can withdraw from an ATM in Japan. So, the answer is it depends on which ATM you use.

• Withdrawal limit in Post offices is a comfortable 200,000 yen/day.
• Seven Bank ATM, for cards issued overseas, the limit for each withdrawal is 100,000 yen. For magnetic stripe card, the limit is 30,000 yen.
• E-Net: Withdrawal limit per transaction with internationally-issued cards is 100,000 yen and 40,000 yen with magnetic stripe card transactions.
• MUFG: Withdrawal limit per transaction for internationally-issued cards is 50,000 yen.
• Lawson limit is 50,000 yen per withdrawal.

3.3 Exchange rate

Of course, it also varies but in general, the exchange rate is quite low as the result of price competition between different services. As a result, customers may benefit a lot from that. You will attain within 1% exchange rate in Japan – more economical than changing foreign currency to JPY at home (typically 5%-11% at banks).

3.4 Notify the bank before the trip

The worst thing is your credit or debit card can not work while using ATM in Japan. By that I mean, some issuing banks, especially in the UK and the US, will freeze your account if they suspect your activity overseas involves fraud. Therefore, don’t forget to inform your bank that you will travel abroad. A number of digital banks have an online platform like a website or app for you to notify such a case. Otherwise, it would just take you a call to your local branch.

Last but not least, I recommend you bring along a variety of credit and debit cards. Provided that one is rejected, you still have other alternatives.

CONCLUSION

While researching about Japan, you will find out that the best way to get Yen is not exchanging cash from your country or at the airport but to withdraw it from an ATM. And through this article, I hope you can not only get used to using ATM in Japan but also economize your trip here.

If you have more related to money matter in general, check out this useful video: