Outgoing foreign currency remittance

1. Main Features

Remittance is available anytime, anywhere

You can complete the procedure on your smartphone. You can apply 24 hours a day, 365 days a year after registering the beneficiary details in advance.

Excludes system maintenance times.

Remit foreign currency from your account

With Sony Bank, you can remit foreign currency in 11 currencies directly from your yen savings account or Foreign currency savings account: Yen, US Dollar, Euro, British Pound, Australian Dollar, New Zealand Dollar, Canadian Dollar, Swiss Franc, Hong Kong Dollar, South African Rand, and Swedish Krona

Remittance in Chinese Yuan (CNH) and Brazilian Real cannot be made from Sony Bank.

Attractive fees

We charge low foreign exchange fees and remittance charges. In fact, you can save on foreign exchange fees when making foreign currency remittance in comparison to other banks. Depending on your Club S membership level, the remittance charge can be waived up to three times per month. For more information, please check Club S.

2. Details

Who can use this service?

You can make foreign currency remittance if you are an individual customer, resident of Japan, and have an account at Sony Bank.

• If you are under the age of 15, you cannot remit foreign currencies, but you can remit yen to banks outside Japan.
• If you're not living in Japan, you cannot use this service.

What types of remittances can be made?

You can remit non-business funds such as living expenses, travel expenses, school expenses, product purchase expenses, etc.

What types of remittances cannot be made?

In some cases, Sony Bank cannot accept a pre-registration or remittance request, such as if:

• The remittance is business-related.
• The beneficiary is your acquaintance or friend (to which you can't prove a relationship publicly).
• The beneficiaries are casino operator, etc.
• The beneficiaries are overseas FX brokers, etc. not registered under the Financial Instruments and Exchange Act.
• The outgoing foreign currency remittance request is made by the third party.
• Remittance being made to a country or territory that is non-cooperative in the fight against money laundering and terrorist financing (such as Syria, Yemen, Iran, North Korea, and other countries and territories identified by the Financial Action Task Force (FATF) as having significant strategic deficiencies in their regimes to counter money laundering and terrorist financing) or to an overseas branch or subsidiary of a bank headquartered in such a jurisdiction.
• Transactions where the beneficiary is a Funds Transfer Service Provider.
  A Funds Transfer Service Provider is someone other than a deposit-taking financial institution, such as a bank, etc., that is primarily engaged in the exchange transaction business.
• Transactions where the actual situation is unknown, such as when a final beneficiary exists separately.
  For example, remittances using a bank account other than the customer's own, or a "consolidated remittance" made by several individuals, etc.
• The purpose of the remittance declared at the beneficiary's bank is different from the purpose of remittance selected by you.
• Remittance funds are deposited shortly before pre-registration or remittance execution, and Sony Bank is unable to identify reasonable grounds for a foreign currency remittance.
• It is not possible to confirm the legitimacy of the source of remittance funds.
• Please note that we will not be able to process remittances in case where the beneficiary or the purpose of remittance is in violation of Japanese Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act or regulations set forth by the U.S. Department of the Treasury's Office of Foreign Assets Control ("OFAC"), or where the remittance is otherwise unacceptable for legal or regulatory reasons.

Compliance with the "Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act"

• The Ministry of Finance has issued a document regarding restrictions on remittances under the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act. Please check the Ministry of Finance website for details.

Limits on the remittance

When making a foreign currency remittance, there is a limit on the "total number of remittances per year" and "total upper limit of amount per year". If your remittance exceeds either case, your application for remittance will not be accepted.

• Even if the foreign currency remittance you want to make is within these limits, it might be declined, depending on the result of Sony Bank's verification.
• If the "total upper limit of amount per year" greatly exceeds the amount for which you can provide evidence (invoices, etc.), the remittance might be declined.

3. Pre-registration

In order to make a foreign currency remittance, you'll need to register beneficiary details and purpose of remittance first. If you have already completed the pre-registration, and the information has been verified by Sony Bank, you can skip this step and jump to Application for remittance. There are three main phases when registering remittance information:

• Phase 1: Information registration
• Phase 2: Content verification
• Phase 3: Notice of completion

Phase 1: Information registration

Please register all necessary information about the beneficiary and remittance.

Step 1: Make sure you have the beneficiary's full account information

Please ask your beneficiary to provide the full account details for the foreign currency remittance.

• Beneficiary bank's name
• Beneficiary bank's address
• Beneficiary bank's SWIFT BIC (8-digit or 11-digit)
• Beneficiary's Account Number or IBAN (IBAN is used in Europe and Middle East)
• Beneficiary's name
• Beneficiary's address
• Beneficiary's phone number (optional)
• Intermediary bank name (if specified)
• Intermediary bank SWIFT BIC (if specified)

Step 2: Start the pre-registration

In order to register information for a new remittance, you need to start the pre-registration process.

How to start the pre-registration

1. Sign in to our Online banking
2. Select Foreign currency remittance from Menu
3. In this section Outgoing foreign currency remittance select Pre-registration

Step 3: Select the remittance destination

If you haven't registered your "My Number" with Sony Bank yet, you will need to select if you would like to send the foreign currency remittance to a beneficiary bank in or outside Japan. To do so, select either Overseas or Domestic.

You may skip this step if you previously registered your "My Number". Please continue from Step 5.*

Step 4: Register your "My Number"

If you have chosen to make a foreign currency remittance to a beneficiary bank outside Japan, it is necessary to register your "My Number". Please follow the instructions on the screen to do so. After the reception is completed, select Close and start the pre-registration again.

• You may skip this step if you select to make a foreign currency remittance to a beneficiary bank in Japan. Please continue from Step 5.
• For more information about "My Number" and how to get it, please check the website of The Japan Agency for Local Authority Information Systems.

Step 5: Agree to the Terms and Conditions

Please read and confirm the important notes regarding the new pre-registration.

Step 6: Enter your information

Make sure that your displayed name and current address (in Japanese language) are correct. Enter your address (in English language) and phone number.

• The remitter's name must be the name you registered with Sony Bank. It cannot be made under any other name than your own.
• If your name or current address has changed, please update the information by selecting the [Updating Customer Information] link on the screen and afterwards start the pre-registration again.

Step 7: Specify the beneficiary bank

Please fill in the beneficiary bank details. Select the country from the dropdown first. Then search for the beneficiary bank or enter the information manually.

Search for the beneficiary bank

Depending on which country you are going to remit funds to, you can either search for the beneficiary bank by SWIFT BIC or IBAN (for remittances to countries in Europe or Middle East).

• In case of SWIFT BIC, you need to narrow down the search by entering either branch name, city, or address of the beneficiary bank.
• If you want to make a remittance to an online bank in Japan, enter HEAD OFFICE at branch name, or Tokyo at city name.

Enter manually

If you were not able to find the beneficiary bank, you must enter the information manually. You're required to fill the name of the beneficiary bank, branch name, address, and city. If the address of the beneficiary bank includes a state or province, please input them. Additionally, please enter SWIFT BIC, or in case you don't know it, clearing code (used in Japan, e.g. 0035-001), ABA (9-digit routing number used in the U.S.), BSB Number (6-digit number used in Australia), etc.

Input account number

For foreign currency remittances to countries that are not using IBAN, you will also need to input the account number of the beneficiary's account.

Step 8: Specify the intermediary bank

You can choose to specify an intermediary bank or not. Please check with the beneficiary if an intermediary bank is required. This might be the case if the beneficiary bank is an online bank.

Search for the intermediary bank

Search for the intermediary bank by entering the SWIFT BIC. If you don't know the branch name, please keep the pre-filled branch name as it is.

Step 9: Input remittance details

Please fill in the beneficiary details and remittance details.

Beneficiary details

Please input the full name of the beneficiary (input middle name and initials without any abbreviation), beneficiary's address (including states or province if known), country and phone number.

Remittance details

Select the currency you want to remit, how many times a year and the total amount you expect to remit to this beneficiary, specify your relationship to the beneficiary and the purpose of the remittance.

• A pre-registration can only have one remittance purpose. It’s not possible to combine multiple purposes, so you'll need to create a pre-registration for each purpose of remittance. (For example, it's not possible to summarize "Living expenses" and "School expenses" under the category "Living expenses").
• Depending on the selected purpose of remittance you might be required to input more detailed information.
• In case you select "Payment of goods" please fill "Merchandise" (the name of the product you purchased), "The place of origin" (from which country you purchased it), and "The place of shipment" (from which city the product was shipped).

Step 10: Confirm the pre-registration

Confirm all entered information and input the requested passwords and PINs. The "Pre-Registration - Complete" message on your screen indicates your request for pre-registration is confirmed. You can close the page.

Phase 2: Content Verification

After your request for pre-registration is confirmed, Sony Bank will verify the content in approximately 3 to 10 business days.

You may need to submit additional documents for verification. In this case, Sony Bank will send you further instructions to your registered email address. For more details on the documents needed, please refer to Verification at the time of transactions.

• Depending on the verification, pre-registration may be declined.
• The time to complete the pre-registration varies depending on the details of the pre-registration. Please note that if registration details are incomplete, you will need to correct them.
• If Sony Bank needs to confirm whether your remittance complies with other laws or regulations, Sony Bank will contact you for confirmation. If Sony Bank is not able to contact you after a certain period, your pre-registration may be declined.
• Applications for which the pre-registration is not complete within one month, because documents requested by Sony Bank haven't been submitted, will be deleted.

Phase 3: Notice of completion

After Sony Bank completed the verification you will receive an email with the title: [Sony Bank] Pre-registration has been completed (outgoing remittance). The remittance details were successfully registered, and you can now make an outgoing foreign currency remittance to that beneficiary.

The completion of pre-registration doesn't guarantee the remittance.

4. Application for remittance

You can only make foreign currency remittances to registered beneficiaries. Please check the pre-registration for more information. There are four main phases when making a foreign currency remittance from Sony Bank to other beneficiary banks:

• Phase 1: Application for remittance
• Phase 2: Content verification
• Phase 3: Remittance execution
• Phase 4: Beneficiaries receive the remittance in their account

Phase 1: Application for remittance

After you have completed the pre-registration, and your beneficiary details and purpose of remittance were verified by Sony Bank, you can request to make a foreign currency remittance.

Step 1: Prepare the funds you want to remit

Please make sure that your foreign currency savings account has sufficient balance, as foreign exchange doesn't happen automatically at the time of remittance.

Step 2: Open the Application for remittance page

In order to submit a foreign currency remittance request, you will need to navigate to the Application for remittance page.

How to open the Application for remittance page

1. Sign in to our Online banking
2. Select Foreign currency remittance from Menu
3. In this section Outgoing foreign currency remittance select List of registered remittances
4. Select the Application for remittance on the beneficiary you want to remit funds to

Step 3: Confirm your information

Please check and confirm your information such as name, address and phone number. You can change your phone number if necessary.

Step 4: Confirm the beneficiary details

Please check and confirm that the beneficiary details is correct.

Step 5: Input remittance details

Please check the displayed information and enter the remittance details.

Amount

Enter the amount you would like to remit.

Paying bank charges

Banks that are involved in the remittance (E.g. beneficiary bank, intermediary bank) might charge additional fees. Please select "Remitter" in case you want to cover the fees or select "Beneficiary" in case you want the beneficiary to cover (the fees might be deducted from the remitted funds). For more information, please check the Fees.

Message for beneficiary

You can enter an optional message to the beneficiary with no more than 140 characters. Line breaks are not allowed in the message field.

Step 6: Confirm the application for remittance

Confirm all entered information and input the requested passwords and PINs.

The "Application for Remittance - Complete" message on your screen indicates your request for remittance is confirmed. You can close the page.

Phase 2: Content verification

After you have completed your remittance request, your remittance details will be verified by Sony Bank.

You may need to submit additional documents for verification. In this case, Sony Bank will send you further instructions to your registered email address. For more details on the documents needed, please refer to Verification at the time of remittance.

Depending on the result of the verification process your remittance may be declined.

Phase 3: Remittance execution

After your remittance details have been verified and your application for remittance has been approved by Sony Bank, the remittance will be made. Once the remittance is executed at Sony Bank, the status will be updated.

The date on which the remittance is made depends on the time the remittance request was made. If the remittance was requested between 00:00 and 7:59, the remittance will be made within 1 to 4 business days. If requested between 8:00 and 23:59, the remittance will be made within 2 to 5 business days.

• The number of days stated above are bank business days, which excludes weekends and bank holidays.
• Depending on the results of the verification process, it may take more than 5 business days until the remittance is made.
• Even if the remittance status is updated, payment to the beneficiary's account is not guaranteed.
• From beginning of application for remittance until the end of execution, the amount of your foreign currency remittance and fees will be handled as unpaid funds from your foreign currency account and yen savings account. Unpaid funds cannot be remitted nor withdrawn.
• If remittance funds are refunded, we will notify you via email.

Phase 4: Beneficiaries receive the remittance in their account

After the remittance has been made by Sony Bank, the remitted funds should arrive in the beneficiary's account. The time it takes for the remittance to arrive depends on the country the remittance is being made to and the beneficiary's bank.

As a reference, if you are remitting US Dollars from Sony Bank to other beneficiary banks in Japan, the remittance may arrive on the same day or up to 2 business days later. If you're remitting to beneficiary banks outside Japan, it may take 3 to 4 business days or more.

If your remittance arrives at the beneficiary's bank on a bank holiday, such as Christmas or New Year's, it may take longer than usual until the beneficiary receives the funds.

5. Checking the remittance status

The status of your remittance will be updated after you have submitted an application for remittance, as well after the remittance is executed by Sony Bank.

Outgoing foreign currency remittances have four possible statuses.

In progress

Sony Bank is currently in the process of verifying the details of your remittance request.

Remittance completed

The details of your application for remittance have been verified. Sony Bank has executed the remittance and the funds is on the way to the beneficiary account.

Refunded

The remittance could not be completed because of a mistake in the remittance information or because the beneficiary's account was not available. The remittance funds have been refunded to your Sony Bank account.

No status displayed

The details of your application for remittance were not accepted by Sony Bank and the remittance was declined. In this case, an email will be sent to your registered email address.

How to check the remittance status

1. Sign in to our Online banking
2. Select Foreign currency remittance from Menu
3. Select Outgoing foreign currency remittance, select Transaction history
4. Select Transaction history
5. The history page will display a list of outgoing remittances
6. You can check the status of each remittance
7. For more information, select Remittance details link

6. Fees

Foreign currency remittance fee

Sony Bank charges a fee of 3,000 yen for every foreign currency remittance made from your account. Depending on your Club S membership level, the remittance fee can be waived up to 3 times per month. For more information, please check Club S.

Paying bank charge

Banks that are involved in the remittance (e.g. beneficiary bank, intermediary bank) might charge additional administrative fees. If such fees apply, they must be paid in advance. When requesting a remittance, you must select "Remitter" or "Beneficiary" depending on if you want yourself or your beneficiary to pay these fees.

"Remitter"

Any time a related bank charges a fee, it will be covered by the remitter, and the paying bank charge of 3,000 yen will be deducted from your Yen savings account.

• However, even if you pay the charges in advance, the related banks may deduct the charges directly from the remitted amount.
• There will be no refunds, even in cases where there are no charges deducted by related banks.

"Beneficiary"

Any time a related bank charges a fee, it will be covered by the beneficiary and the fee may be deducted from the remitted funds.

• Whether fees are required or not, as well as the number and amount of fees, differs for each remittance depending on the beneficiary.
• Because each related bank defines its own fees, it is impossible for Sony Bank to check the fees in advance.

Fee for changes, refund request, and inquiries

Sony Bank charges a fee of 5,000 yen for every change, refund request or inquiry procedure.

• Sony Bank can't refund any fees, even in the case that the remittance failed.
• Additional fees and expenses might be charged by related banks, depending on the procedure.

7. Verification at the time of remittance

Sony Bank is strengthening its measures against money laundering and terrorist financing. In regards to the use of foreign currency remittance services, we are tightening our screening process at time of pre-registration and remittance execution in an effort to more appropriately and strictly comply with Japan's Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Control Law ("Foreign Exchange Law") and other related legislation. In light of this, we may need to confirm additional details of remittances during both pre-registration and/or remittance execution stages.

This additional verification may take several days, so please ensure you allow plenty of time for processing your transaction. In addition, we reserve the right to refuse the transaction depending on screening results. We ask for your kind understanding and cooperation.

We ask for your cooperation in the preventing of money laundering and terrorist financing, which is an act of hiding criminal-related funds. ("AML/CFT")

The details of your outgoing foreign currency remittance shall be verified by Sony Bank's prescribed methods at the time of remittance.

During the verification process, you may be asked to submit documents that can confirm the purpose of remittance, source of remittance funds, and relationship to the beneficiary.

Your foreign currency remittance will be made after verification by Sony Bank. Since this verification process takes some time, we ask that you allow sufficient time for your remittance.

• Sony Bank shall verify the remittance details requests based on our methods whenever a remittance is requested in accordance with the Act on Prevention of remittance of Criminal Proceeds ("Criminal Proceeds Act"), the Foreign Exchange and Foreign Trade Act ("Foreign Exchange Act"), and other relevant laws and regulations on anti-money laundering and Countering the Financing of Terrorism.
• Sony Bank will share the name and address of your bank and account number information with the related banks.
• Depending on the results of the verification process, your pre-registration or remittance request may be denied.
• If Sony Bank needs to confirm whether your remittance complies with other laws and regulations, Sony Bank will contact you for confirmation. If Sony Bank is unable to contact you after a certain period, your pre-registration or remittance may be canceled (declined).
• Sony Bank cannot disclose the details of the prescribed verification criteria to avoid unauthorized verification.

• Video introduction of "Foreign Currency Remittance Verification"
• Text version of "Foreign Currency Remittance Verification"

Documents to be submitted

In the case Sony Bank needs to verify your remittance, you will be contacted by email for documents that need to be submitted. When contacted by email, you may be required to provide us with the following such details.

• Your average monthly income
• Your occupation and name of employer
• Name of the financial institution, including branch name, into which your salary is paid
• A valid reason for remitting foreign currency from Sony Bank

Please follow the instructions in the email and prepare the necessary documents according to the details and purpose of the remittance. You can submit additional documents as an email attachment or by postal mail.

Confirmation documents for remittance fund

• Sony Bank will confirm the name of transacting financial institutions
• Please ensure that details of withdrawals or deposits are not blackened out

Confirmation of relationship with the beneficiary

In cases where the beneficiary is not yourself, you might need to provide documents that can confirm your relationship to the beneficiary.

Confirmation documents for purpose of remittance

8. When in trouble

If you would like to make changes, cancel or inquiry about your foreign currency remittance after you have completed the application for remittance, please contact the English help desk. Sony Bank will need to send you documents for these procedures.

Changing transaction details

If you want to change the beneficiary's account number, name, address, etc. after the remittance was made, please fill in the "Outgoing foreign currency remittance change details request form" and apply by fax or mail. The fee for changing transaction details is 5,000 yen.

• It is not possible to change remittance amount, remittance purpose or the day the remittance is executed.
• Related banks might charge fees.
• The fee will be deducted from your Yen savings account.
• If your entry is incomplete or your Yen savings balance is insufficient, you cannot complete this procedure.

Inquiring about a remittance

To inquire about the status of your remittance, please fill out the necessary items on the "Outgoing foreign currency remittance inquiry form" and apply by fax or mail. The inquiry fee is 5,000 yen.

• Related banks might charge fees.
• The fee will be deducted from your Yen savings account on the specified date.
• It may take a while to receive the inquiry results
• You cannot cancel the inquiry after you requested it. Regardless of the result of the inquiry, the fee cannot be refunded.

Refund request

If you made a mistake when entering the remittance details (e.g. account number) and your remittance was made to an incorrect beneficiary, you will need to request a refund in order to receive your funds back. Please fill in the "Outgoing foreign currency remittance refund request form" and apply by fax or mail. The fee for a refund request is 5,000 yen.

If the remittance has already arrived at a beneficiary account, consent from the beneficiary is required. The reimbursement will be declined in the case the beneficiary does not consent.

• The cancellation fee will be charged for the request procedure regardless of the outcome.
• Related banks might charge fees. These fees might be deducted from the remitted amount
• The fee will be deducted from your Yen savings account.
• It may take some days to receive the result of the refund request.