New service starts to allow foreigners to open bank accounts on smartphone

An online bank and a financial technology firm in Tokyo have joined hands to start a new service to allow non-Japanese residents in the country to easily open bank accounts on their smartphones.

The online bank founded by Kiraboshi Bank, a regional bank in Tokyo, and the Tokyo company, GIG-A, launch the service on Wednesday.

The service will be available in English and Vietnamese. It will allow users to quickly open bank accounts using an app on smartphones. Users will be able to transfer money and use other services with an app on their mobile phones.

To make the service convenient for its users, it will adopt the flat-rate system for handling fees of money transfers, charging 1,100 yen, or about eight dollars, per month.

It has been often pointed out that complicated procedures and language barriers are making it difficult for non-Japanese residents to open bank accounts.

High handling fees for money transfers are also said to be putting heavy burdens on foreign workers in the country.

Raul Allikivi, CEO of GIG-A, which developed the app for the service, said such problems prompted him to develop the service. He said he thought there should be needs among foreign residents here for an easy-to-use banking service on their mobile phones.

Source: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/nhkworld/en/news/20230301_02/