Account-Opening Experience: SBI, GMO, SMBC Trunk, PayPay, Yokohama, and General Advice

SBI Net Bank / Sumishin (a neobank) opens accounts quickly, in about 1–2 weeks, and can be applied for online with a zairyu card (a personal seal is not required but is accepted as an alternative); the bank is described as friendly to foreign entrepreneurs, though this is unconfirmed. GMO Aozora Bank has opened accounts for companies with no clients yet, based on a business plan alone without fabricated quotes; it is considered relatively easy to open an account with, gives a card with 1% cashback, and issues a debit card immediately on account opening — the downside is that it does not accept incoming SWIFT transfers. It may repeatedly request additional documents ("a soulless machine"), though some users appreciate its 24-hour operation. SMBC Trunk (a bank for startups) opens accounts even with minimal capital, for example 10,000 yen; the interview feels like a job interview. Several chat participants report no refusals of foreign startup founders so far, though many are nervous about the interview. Accounts have been opened even without an extensive document package, based mainly on the interview — sometimes a business plan alone is enough. An example document list requested by SBI/Netbank: a business plan, a company presentation, a client contract, a website, the director's biography, a company profile (企業概要説明書), and a quotation/estimate (見積書, mitsumorisho) — review took about a month with no follow-up questions from the bank. PayPay Bank has reportedly become more willing to approve business accounts for foreigners, per an unofficial tip from a bank manager ("they loosened the screws") (paypay-bank.co.jp/business/account/index.html). Bank of Yokohama, per one user's experience, requires a Japanese negotiator even for a credit line, despite the foreign applicant's fluent Japanese (a chat opinion calling this discriminatory). Different users get opposite results at the same banks — one person was refused by SBI but approved by GMO, and vice versa for another. Export-oriented companies can in principle be refused a bank account even when the company itself registered without any issues. Amex approved a corporate card relatively quickly for a new company with no account at a major bank and with non-resident directors. Banks want to see a track record of activity or highly credible founders and a business plan — the chat recommendation is to start conducting export activity even without an account, in order to later prove business activity to the bank. It helps to have a mitsumorisho (a non-binding commercial quote/estimate) as evidence of activity for the bank. A standard Japanese business-plan template (including the one offered by startup programs such as Tokyo Startup) has been used successfully both for the BM visa and for opening a bank account. The general recommendation is to start conducting business activity (sales, exports, contracts) even without an open bank account, so there is something to show the bank later as proof of real business activity rather than just a business plan on paper. Keeping a mitsumorisho on hand is a useful additional piece of evidence when applying to open an account. Source: https://inoshi.cc/ru/banking/smbc-trunk — Russian-language guide to the SMBC Trunk bank interview. Source: https://www.paypay-bank.co.jp/business/account/index.html — Official PayPay Bank page on opening a business account.