Finance-related matters that are only in Japan – as far as I know

First, a disclaimer: while I have visited quite a few countries already in my lifetime, I can only claim to have lived in one other country than my own. That country is, of course, Japan. So, all the experiences I have living abroad are only in Japan, and all the comparisons I will make will only be (1) with my home country based on experience, or (2) with other countries but only through information available online.

Anyway, when I moved here 9 years ago, I discovered rather quickly that there are two places that close a bit too early (in my opinion): ATMs and Starbucks. You see in most of Metropolitan Manila and other urban areas in the Philippines like Cebu, Starbucks shops close as late as 2:00 in the morning. When I moved to Urayasu in Chiba, I took comfort in (and got excited) with the fact that there is a Starbucks shop near my then house – only for that excitement to rapidly change to disappointment upon finding out that they close at 7 PM. To be fair, Starbucks Urayasu has improved over the years – they now close one hour later.

I had the exact same "Starbucks" sentiment with ATMs, only that instead of disappointment, I experienced a rather prolonged frustration. Coming from a country where most ATMs are open 24/7, it took me a while to adjust to the 7:00 PM closing time, especially since I was also working till past that time. To cope, I mastered the skill of quickly walking to the nearest ATM when needed during the day time, and the art of withdrawing enough cash to lessen the trips to the machine. Also, I have come to appreciate the sheer presence of convenience store ATMs which I later on discovered. Again to be fair, ATM closing times have improved over the years (for most of them) – they now close two hours later, and some close as late as 11 PM. Looking back, perhaps it is also good that these ATM booths are not open all the time. In Manila a lot of crimes happen around ATM booths and obviously we see much less of that here in Japan.

On the flip side, there are two things that I genuinely appreciate about banking in Japan. One, while it is true that ordinary savings deposit accounts here do not earn interest, they are insured in full (i.e., no maximum amount of insured). Even countries like the US and UK have placed limits on the insured amount of bank deposits. Two, unlike in the Philippines and the US, it is a must for one to have a bank account here in Japan prior to applying for a credit card. If you’re wondering why I consider this a good thing, I can answer that in one word: discipline. Discipline in the sense that I can always keep my spending behavior in check, knowing that I can only use my credit card up to the amount that is in my bank account. I never had a credit card back home; I only had debit cards and as we know, they operate differently. Turns out, this bank account requirement policy is something I needed to encourage me to finally get myself a credit card – aside from the points and miles, of course.

In my almost decade-long residence here in the Land of the Rising Sun, I’ve had my share of banking-related frustrating experiences, and I even shared it here at City-Cost. However, while some aspects of it can still be improved, overall, banking here is something I have come to appreciate.