Hello!
So lately I’ve been having some problems trying to open a bank account to use as a freelance. I tried to open a few business bank accounts as a 個人事業主 and the whole process has been incredibly confusing.
PayPay Bank → Rejected with the usual “総合的判断で見送り”.
住信SBIネット銀行 (NEOBANK) → Tried three times, but my documents didn’t match the data I entered. My surname is long and has spaces, but the online form doesn’t accept spaces, so I’m pretty sure that caused the mismatch. Now I have to wait one month before I can try again.
GMO Aozora Net Bank → Applied and currently waiting for the document screening results.
While checking other Reddit posts and Japanese sources, the information is all over the place and honestly a bit contradictory:
Some people say Shinsei, Sony, Rakuten, and others don’t accept overseas remittances
And on Japanese sites, nothing is clearly written about foreign remittances
On top of that, I’m still not sure whether receiving money from Wise (converted to JPY before sending) counts as a “foreign remittance” or a normal domestic transfer
For context:
I have a Wise Business account, which was incredibly easy and fast to open, and my plan is:
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Get paid in EUR by a European client
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Money arrives in Wise
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Convert to JPY inside Wise
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Send the yen into a Japanese bank account
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Use that account for bookkeeping and taxes, then transfer part of it for personal expenses
All the overseas remittances I receive would be payments for my freelance services, nothing more.
So the Japanese bank does not need to handle foreign currency at all.
I just need one bank that will accept incoming transfers from Wise, even if the original source is a foreign company.
At this point, I honestly don’t care which bank it is, not gonna lie. Big, small, online bank, whatever. I just need one that works for receiving overseas freelance income through Wise as a sole proprietor.
Another thing I’m wondering is: is it possible (or allowed) to just use a normal personal bank account instead of a 個人事業主 account? Which banks allow this?
Since I’m a sole proprietor and not a corporation, I’ve seen some people say they use their personal account for business income, but I’m not sure if that causes issues with taxes or with the bank.
If anyone has gone through this or knows which banks are actually reliable for receiving Wise transfers and allow foreign remittances, I’d really appreciate any advice.
by dondokon