Wednesday 4 February 2009

JAPAN: Tokyo Report: Remittance Services to Be Opened for Firms

Source: Jiji Press English News Service)trackingTokyo, Feb. 2 (Jiji Press)--The Financial Services Agency plans to submit a bill to the current session of parliament to allow nonbank businesses to offer remittance and other money transfer services, starting in fiscal 2009 at the earliest.

The deregulation move is expected to stimulate competition and create money transfer services that are safer, less costly and more user-friendly, FSA officials say.

At present, only banks are allowed to engage in exchange transactions. For overseas money remittances involving different banks, senders are usually charged handling fees amounting to 3,000 to 5,000 yen per transaction. In addition, money transfers to foreign countries involve charges payable to overseas banks as well as foreign-exchange fees.

In the United States, money-sending companies authorized by state laws tie up with Japanese and other banks and usually charge lower fees for overseas remittances than those charged by banks in Japan. Read more

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