Rant: Stop sending PayPal invoices to clients in Japan

Used to send PayPal links for payments but switched to bank transfers after a client in Tokyo told me their bank charges like $30 on a $200 invoice, and now I actually get paid on time every single time lol, anyone else run into crazy bank fees with different countries?

3 comments

3 Comments

ray_burns10d ago

Yeah the bank fees in Japan are brutal. It's not just PayPal either. A lot of local banks there charge a flat fee per incoming international wire that can be anywhere from 2000 to 4000 yen per transaction. That's like 15 to 30 bucks on a small invoice. And then the bank in your country might also hit you with a fee on the way out. The real kicker is that Japanese banks often charge extra if the money comes in as a different currency than yen. So if you send USD they convert it at a terrible rate plus add another fee. Bank transfers work fine once you set them up but the fees are still there. You just get paid faster because Japanese clients are used to bank transfers from local businesses.

nancyramirez9d ago

Bank fees are just the cost of doing business internationally, not some hidden trap. Japanese clients have been dealing with those fees forever and they budget for it, same as any other expense. PayPal's 4% fee plus the bad exchange rate adds up to more than those bank charges on most invoices anyway, especially if you're sending anything under $500. Sounds like you just found a workflow that works for you, but the fees aren't going away either way.

hunt.hayden8d ago

Yeah the "cost of doing business" thing only works if both sides are actually getting fair value. Japanese banks charge 2000-4000 yen just to receive a wire, then slap on a terrible conversion rate if it's in USD. That's not budgeting, that's getting fleeced twice.