---
title: "International Transfers, Foreign Banking Alternatives and Corporate Cards"
url: https://memocore.ai/memos/6a5f638763d783ad68709458
project: "Doing Business in Japan"
tags: "japan-business, links-and-contacts, bank-account, accounting-and-services"
updated_at: "2026-07-21T12:18:15.573Z"
---

# International Transfers, Foreign Banking Alternatives and Corporate Cards

GigaBank is an Estonian bank described as friendly to foreign residents for personal accounts; Mercury is a startup-focused bank used when incorporating abroad, for example in the US, and was mentioned approvingly; doola.com is an intermediary service for setting up a company and account abroad (for example in the US) at roughly $200-300 per year. Wise's holding limits for Japan residents are documented on its help pages, and a Reddit thread covers Wise obtaining a Type 1 funds transfer license in Japan; the SWIFT code CHASUS33 was noted as often working as an intermediary bank for Wise payments. Revolut Business publishes eligibility information by country of residence, and COTRA is a voluntary consortium of Japanese banks offering free interbank transfers of up to 100,000 yen per day, though Rakuten Bank does not participate. For corporate cards and payment processing, Upsider offers corporate cards for small and medium businesses with freee/HR/ERP integration and runs an associated venture fund, UPSIDER Capital; Lifecard and freee Card are further examples of corporate cards; and Stripe's Japan pricing page lists its payment-processing fees, roughly 3.5% depending on terms.

Source: https://gigabank.jp/ — GigaBank — Estonian bank for personal accounts, described as foreigner-friendly. Source: https://www.doola.com/ — doola.com — intermediary service for setting up a company and account abroad. Source: https://wise.com/help/articles/3GBSRou4DTXxYz1piNbzN5/holding-limits-if-you-live-in-japan — Wise holding limits for Japan residents. Source: https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanFinance/comments/1bdhbk7/wise_receives_type_1_funds_transfer_license_in/ — Reddit thread on Wise obtaining a Type 1 funds transfer license in Japan. Source: https://help.revolut.com/business/help/setting-up-an-account/is-my-business-eligible/what-country-of-residence-is-eligible-to-open-a-revolut-business-account/ — Revolut Business eligibility by country of residence. Source: https://up-sider.com/ — Upsider — corporate cards with freee/HR/ERP integration. Source: https://www.upsidercap.com/ — UPSIDER Capital — venture fund associated with Upsider. Source: https://www.lifecard.co.jp/partner/bussinesscard/ — Lifecard — example of a corporate credit card. Source: https://www.freee.co.jp/card/corporate — freee Card — corporate cards from freee. Source: https://stripe.com/en-jp/pricing — Stripe Japan pricing for payment processing.