Japan is a country where racial discrimination is so commonplace that it makes news headlines when people are not racially discriminated against, such as when a Japanese company hires foreigners or a local government body allows foreigners to take the tests for working there. For us white westerners, it works both ways though. But one place where it really hits you (besides trying to find a landlord that will let you live in his apartment) is when it comes to getting a credit card.
I’ve been living in Japan for more than 4½ years now and tried many times to get one, always to be turned down. This especially includes applying for ones from my bank, Shinsei Bank, that I’ve used exclusively for all my time in Japan, and where I now have “platinum” status, meaning that I have many million yen entrusted at their bank, a significant part of which is in risky assests where they make a lot of profit. So they clearly rank me as one of their best customers, and I’m clearly bound to keep significant assets in their bank for the immediate future (so I cannot just “escape”), but still turn me down every time I apply for a credit card. Why is that?
Being turned down for a VISA credit card by my Japanese bank
When I visited one of Shinsei’s branch offices recently for a completely different, but somewhat time-consuming and complicated issue, I got to talk quite a lot with one of the staff there. As I have “platinum” status, they treat me quite well too, not hurriedly at all. This was one of the branches where a lot of foreigners visit, and she seemed quite used to working with foreigners, although we spoke only in Japanese. So at the end she asked if there was something else I’d like to inquire about, and I asked something along the lines of why do you turn my credit card applications down all the time, despite me being a “platinum” level customer and having millions of yen in your bank?. And surprisingly, she did have a good answer for that, not just the usual appologies.
The reason, it seems, why Shinsei Bank (which is, by the way, founded by a foreigner based on foreign capital) systematically turns down foreigners’ credit card applications is that the company that is contracted to handle credit cards for the bank doesn’t have any support line in English. Since we’d just been having a conversation about quite complicated banking matters in Japanese for half an hour, that reason obviously seemed very silly at that point. Still, that’s why. And since Japan doesn’t have any laws against racial discrimination, systematically turning down anyone with a foreign-sounding name (they don’t actually check your nationality) is just fine here.
Anyhow, at long last I went to Citibank to beg for a credit card there, since I’ve heard they’re more open to foreigners’ business. Considering the bank would have gone bankrupt if it hadn’t been bailed out by the US government, it’s not exactly my primary choice for doing banking, but anyway. And they gave me a credit card within less than a week, with a 1 million yen limit, which I think is very high. And unlike Shinsei Bank where I have the highest available “platinum” status, that was the first time I walked in to a Citibank office. I have no prior history with them at all. And they still gave me a pretty sweet credit card.
Finally got a Japanese credit card.
So what is the conclusion from all this? Go to Citibank. It seems Shinsei Bank and Citibank are the two somewhat modern banks in Japan, with Shinsei being about 10 years behind the average Swedish bank instead of the Japanese average of 50 years behind. Citibanks seems just as (comparatively) moderen. Shinsei seemed very foreigner-friendly when I opened an account there, but in the end they certainly do practice discrimination against foreigners, so I must say that I regret my decision – I should have gone with Citibank instead. That is the best advice I can give to anyone non-Japanese who’s getting a bank account and/or credit card in Japan.
Great info. I’ve been with shinsei 3 years now, but I just popped by the citibank branch today to file my application. The service was generally far better and since they’re in control of the cards rather than a “partner” that runs the checks, I could just file for the credit card then and there
For what it’s worth, I’ve applied for three different credit cards and been accepted every time. I’m a white gaijin.
I’d imagine one of the major factors in my acceptance was the fact that I work for a traditional Japanese company with a high credit rating. If you’re working for a small software company, I’d imagine it will make things more difficult.
If you’re willing to do everything in Japanese, the English support thing sounds like a weak excuse to me.
You may be interested in my blog post:
http://wrightak.blogspot.com/2009/08/whats-point.html
I am sure you have reasons to be frustrated about the way you are being treated. However, I just thought I would mention few things here so that readers of your blog do not get an one-sided opinion.
I am not Japanese and I have been working in Japan for few months only. I do not even speak Japanese to the level required to converse with a bank. I got two bank accounts, both started with zero initial balance and one of them gave me a credit card. The one that gave me a Mastercard/UC credit card is the “venerable, strictly Japanese” Mizuho bank, for which I read many negative comments on the Internet. No questions asked.
Now, a contrasting news: a Japanese friend of mine tried to open a basic HSBC account in the UK. It took more than a month with several intermediate refusals and when it was finally approved, the result was just a basic account with a cash card. Of course, I have my own experience about trying to obtain a credit card in the UK, which took 11 applications before being approved. You can tell, I am not British either but I had lived in the UK for almost 10 years.
Bottomline: yes, you have been facing a problem with the bank. I know how frustrating this can be. However, I doubt I’d agree with you about the racist connection!
In continuation with my comment above, I must say that I do not agree with you about the connection between racism and the ridiculous restrictions of banks towards foreigners. These are usually because of set rules by the bank system in the country, which you may call as “racist” rules but then UK is probably the top in the list of being “racist” although the UK, as a whole, is more international than Japan.
But, otherwise, I do agree that Japan is a very homogenous country which has very little experience of being accommodative to a foreign culture.
I hate to agree with you. The way they reject foreigners is just ridiculous…I’ve applied three times already. I go to Keio university (supposed to be one of the top private universities in the country) and couldn’t get their card, even though all the Asian guys in my class and I applied together. They all got it but me and my Australian friend. Another friend who has been working for the government for 4 years, has been rejected three times already….
I fail to see the logical explanation….
Juan, I completely agree.
I have Korean and Chinese friends at university and both were granted credit cards, however i was not. All with the university card. Now im working in Japan (have been for 3 years) all my Korean and Chinese colleagues have credit cards. I am yet to have been approved although I work for a reputable large manufacturer and have a stable job.
The Japanese system never ceases to amaze me…
I decided to use rakutens visa debit card because it was impossible for me not to have a credit card for business trips to Europe / USA etc. Would recommend it for people who cant get a credit card
Mhh… a lot of mixed info here.
Went just now to Shinsei Ueno to open an account. All went smooth but the lady did not speak English and she was no keen to.
Anyways little story: I own a Harley and I bought it new for cash 4 years ago.
Last year in the dealership they handed me over a CC form that I was excited about as I though ” how can they refuse me I own one…” Well they did! LOL… I wasted my time as usual.
Going to city bank today.
@Anonymous :
February 15, 2011 at 11:51
You are naive buddy, they are racist to the bone. When I went riding with a group of Japs one of the guys was reluctant to introduce me his daughters for good 6 months…LOL what did he think I’m going to do? (one of them worked in the Home center near my home but he was evasive to reveal in witch department she was working at)
It’s all good I can deal with it but remember you will never integrate no matter what you do.
Good luck to all
I have gotten quite close to one of the staff at one of the Shinsei offices, and she told me that the reason that Shinsei bank denies essentially all foreigners’ applications of credit cards (regardless of their status with Shinsei Bank) is that the company that handles the customer services for the Shinsei credit cards has no customer support in English. We have always spoken 100% Japanese with each others and I am a Platinum customer at Shinsei bank, so she realizes this is bullshit. But still, that is their official explanation. In any sensible country this would be grounds for legal prosecution for racism, but of course in Japan this is all completely reasonable.
“[T]hey are racist to the bone.”
.
.
.
“Japs”
The cognitive dissonance, it hurts.
Hi,
I agree with you as well, its very difficult to get a credit card. I heard that it used to be easier before but many gaijins maxed out their credit cards right before leaving Japan for good and this is why its quite difficult to get one. I don’t think this is down to racism but rather credit history and lack of trust.
I work for a small company which puts me on-site at an American Bank for Server support. I make a descent wage(about 700,000-1,000,000 per month) but I can’t get a credit card, very frustrating!
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