There was a recent post about Klook not fulfilling a Shinkansen oversized luggage ticket that someone had booked weeks in advance so they had a seat during Golden Week.
I know it's popular on this sub to look down on people who use Klook for train tickets and especially the Shinkansen when there is the option to book those tickets in person and/or 'just use SmartEX app'!
In this case, the OP couldn't get their credit card accepted by the app and so had no other choice but to go with Klook (who then obviously failed to get a ticket reserved in advance and waited way too late to try to obtain a ticket… their bot sucks).
If you've experienced not being able to get a SmartEX account setup on the app, I highly recommend you go to their desktop website (so not on the phone, but laptop/computer) and try to set your account up there.
I found that when it came to verifying your credit card details, the app failed because it couldn't route you to your bank's verification page but once that verification step passed, I had no problems whatsoever with getting the account setup and then logging into the SmartEX app afterwards.
The app itself appears to have only catered for local Japanese credit cards and not allowed for foreign verification pages to load, so it just automatically fails your card.
I can't say for sure that this will solve everyone's problems but I keep seeing on this sub that people can't create an account on the app due to this CC failure.
Edit: Updating to summarise what other commenters have found that worked for them as well!
– US Chase card appears to not be possible at all
– Others have had no issue with their card being verified on the app
– For others, it’s a case of their bank not having a compatible 3D Secure portal (call your bank)
– One commenter had an actual block on their credit card and needed to call their bank before they could go ahead
– Go to a convenience store and purchase a prepaid card instead
– Honourable mention: use JR West/East/Central (?) websites instead. (I’ve genuinely never used any of these websites for Shinkansen tickets so I can’t provide any advice on this whatsoever)
Loving how everyone’s chipping in with their experience! This will hopefully help someone else in the future in a similar situation!
by Travelling_Baka