Money sent abroad from Japan has not arrived or came back: what to check, in order

Wise explains the places where a transfer is delayed in three parts: the stage of paying the money, the processing at Wise (most security checks are done here and cannot be made faster), and the recipient's bank. Banks do not process on weekends and public holidays, so if it is a holiday either in Japan or at the destination, the transfer is delayed by that much.

With a bank's overseas remittance, the money is not sent right away on the day you apply. MUFG Bank's online overseas remittance accepts applications 24 hours a day, but the money is actually sent on the next business day or the business day after that. It may be delayed further when a check is needed, when many requests come at once, or when it is a holiday at the destination. Rakuten Bank gives the estimated time until arrival as "roughly the remittance date plus 1 to 5 business days" (「おおむね送金日＋1営業日～5営業日程度」) and writes that it may take longer because of procedures or regulations on the receiving side.

Checks by the remittance company are also a cause of delay. MUFG Bank says it may check by phone your occupation, the purpose of the transfer, the source of the funds, your relationship with the recipient and so on, and that it cancels the request if it cannot reach you and a certain period passes. Smiles writes in its terms that it checks every transaction against lists of sanctioned persons and that, as a result, a transfer may be delayed or refused.

"Completed" on the screen does not necessarily mean the money is in the recipient's account. Wise's "transfer complete" means that Wise has sent the money to the recipient's bank, and it may take up to 1 more business day from there until it is in the account. SBI Remit explains that for deposits to an account it cannot confirm the crediting, so it shows "received" (受取済み) if no error notice comes within a certain period, and that an error can still come later in some cases.

According to the Japanese Bankers Association, overseas remittances are normally sent through SWIFT, a messaging system between banks. Depending on the currency and the way it is sent, a transfer may pass through one or more intermediary banks, including banks located in a third country, and the association says that at the time of acceptance a Japanese bank cannot know whether there is an intermediary bank, or its name and location (「経由銀行の有無や経由銀行名およびその所在地を把握できません」). SMBC also states that the countries a transfer passes through are decided by the overseas intermediary banks, so it cannot answer at the time of acceptance.

Depending on the route, both the number of days and the fees may increase. MUFG Bank warns that if no remittance route is set for the bank code that was entered (BIC, also called SWIFT code), the following can happen: late arrival, extra fees at intermediary banks, a refund after fees have been deducted, or cancellation and a new request. It also writes that in countries that use IBAN (International Bank Account Number), if the IBAN is missing, the money may come back with fees deducted.

These are the things for the sender to check first. You can check all of them yourself before you contact the remittance company.

1. The status shown for the transfer. What you can do differs depending on whether it is waiting for payment, processing or completed.
2. Messages from the remittance company. Have you been asked for more information by email or phone? Wise says that if there is no reply within 2 business days to a request for information, or to an email telling you that the transfer has come back, it cancels the transfer and refunds it.
3. Whether the recipient's name, account number (IBAN in countries that need it) and bank code (BIC) match the details registered for the recipient's account, letter for letter.
4. Holidays in Japan and at the destination, and whether you were past the cut-off time. With SMBC's online overseas remittance, even a request made by 14:00 for a foreign-currency transfer or by 11:00 for a yen transfer may not be sent the same day, depending on checks.

There are also things the recipient can check. Wise states that when money does not arrive after the transfer is complete, the recipient can show the Wise transfer receipt to their own bank and ask it to look into the transfer.

With a bank transfer, the procedure in which the sender's bank asks the overseas bank is called a trace request or inquiry (照会). MUFG Bank's rules say that when the money has not been paid to the recipient, you should tell the handling branch early, and the bank investigates, for example by asking the intermediary bank, and tells you the result. They also provide that if the intermediary bank refuses the payment, the money is returned through the recall procedure.

A trace request may have a fee. SMBC sets the fee for sending an inquiry letter to an overseas bank when money has not arrived at ¥4,000 per case. Rakuten Bank's trace fee is ¥3,000, and it is charged even when the result could not be found out. DCOM writes in its terms that it investigates a transfer that has not arrived if asked.

At banks, the procedure for getting back money while the transfer is on the way is called a recall (組戻し). At MUFG Bank, a recall is also needed to change the amount or the intermediary bank. Until when you can cancel, and how much the fee is, differ by company.

How returned money is handled differs by company and by the way you sent. Under the rules of MUFG Bank (when the money comes back in a currency different from the one sent) and Rakuten Bank, the money is converted again at the rate at the time of return. It does not go back to the rate at the time of sending, so the yen amount differs from the amount you sent. The rules and guidance of MUFG Bank, Rakuten Bank, DCOM, Smiles and others also state handling such as the first remittance fee not being returned and intermediary bank fees being deducted. On the other hand, some companies, like Wise, say that in principle they refund the full amount paid, except when the money was sent by SWIFT.

The number of days until the money comes back is also described differently by each company. Wise says that a transfer refused by a bank may take up to 5 business days or more to come back to Wise, and that a refund to a bank transfer takes 0–3 business days. DCOM says it normally processes refunds within 30 days. For the three banks, we did not find guidance that shows the number of days a recall takes.

First, contact the company you sent with. If that does not solve the problem, you can use the consultation desks listed by the Financial Services Agency (FSA) under Financial ADR (金融ADR). For bank transfers, the desk is the Japanese Bankers Association consultation office (全国銀行協会相談室). For remittance services of funds transfer service providers (資金移動業者), it is the customer consultation office (お客さま相談室) of the Japan Payment Service Association (日本資金決済業協会). Both first accept the matter as a complaint, and move to a dispute resolution procedure when that does not solve it.

Among the causes of money not arriving or coming back, input mistakes and not answering messages can be prevented by checking before sending and right after sending.

• Enter the recipient's name exactly as it is registered for the recipient's account. For transfers to South Korea, for example, a difference in the order of the name may mean a procedure is needed on the receiving side.
• Check the bank code (BIC) and, in countries that need it, the IBAN (International Bank Account Number) in the guidance of the recipient's bank. The BIC takes priority over the bank name.
• Write the purpose of the transfer specifically. Some banks, like MUFG Bank, ask you to write it in English because the information is sent overseas.
• After sending, answer emails and calls from the remittance company early. If there is no reply, the transfer may be cancelled.
• Keep the transfer receipt and the reference number. They are used for a trace request and for an investigation on the recipient's side.

Procedures for each destination are in the sending guides by destination, and the total cost that combines fees and the exchange rate is in the remittance cost comparison table. For what happens with transfers over ¥1,000,000 (1 million yen), see the article on the 1 million yen per-transfer cap.