Living here for 15 years, I’d assumed I’d discovered every Gaijin roadblock and hurdle to everyday life, but I found a new one.
I paid for airline tickets with my Japanese credit card. I usually just take the payment slip to my convenience store, but because it was above a certain amount, the paper said that I couldn't do it at a convenience store and to take it to a bank instead.
I tried having it automatically deducted from my bank account, but for some reason, the system hates me and never lets me do it.
So I took the credit card payment slip to my local bank the day before it was due and was told that if it was above a certain amount, I’d need to show ID. Fine, I show my ID.
Then I was given a piece of paper to sign saying that I wasn’t affiliated with PEPS. WTF is PEPS?
Apparently, it’s people in high-profile public roles—like heads of state, senior politicians, judges, ambassadors, executives of state-owned companies—or their close family members and associates.
If I were affiliated with some kind of criminal organization, I’d be sending them a whole lot more money than the price of an airline ticket. If my uncle was Putin I'd expect him to be sending me money.
I was left to sit and wait for over 40 minutes (the bank was empty) while they discussed whether it was safe to let my Gaijin self just pay off my monthly credit card statement.
They wanted my name, my phone number, my job. I told them it was just an airline ticket, and then they asked whether I was leaving Japan forever or not. WTF does that matter to them? If I used this money to fund my evil empire, it’s the credit card company’s fault, not theirs. This money isn’t even leaving Japan—the credit card company is clearly written all over it.
This entire process usually takes less than five minutes when I do it at the convenience store.
When I asked why it was taking so long, they said the money deposit system had become strict for foreigners paying in cash without a bank account, so at least it wasn’t anything personal. It was also a smaller regional bank.
Never again will I use my Japanese credit card for large purchases.
EDIT: Thank you for your banking comments. I have been trying to set up direct debit, but I think there may be a name mismatch or signature problem. I've just been paying it at the convenience store for years without any issues. The aim of my post was to warn people that what are usually super simple payments, can suddenly become harder as a non-Japanese citizen. Thank you for sharing your banking issues. I got all my banking set up years ago when Japan was less strict, so I've been unaware of these recent changes.
by Brilliant-Comment249