Sending Money from Japan to Hong Kong: Bank Account or Cash Pickup
Need to send money from Japan to Hong Kong? Here’s the cleanest setup if the recipient has a bank account, and what to do if they do not.
Sending money from Japan to Hong Kong is usually easier than sending to many Southeast Asian corridors.
The main reason is simple: bank-account delivery is widely supported, and Hong Kong is a mature financial system. That removes a lot of the friction you see in more cash-dependent corridors.
But the recommendation still changes depending on one practical question:
- does the recipient have a Hong Kong bank account?
If the answer is yes, the route is cleaner.
If the answer is no, you need to think more about cash pickup, convenience, and whether the record will still be usable later for fuyou or other family-support proof.
The First Split: Bank Account or No Bank Account
Before comparing brands, make this choice first.
| Recipient setup | Usually the better route | Why |
|---|---|---|
| Recipient has a Hong Kong bank account | Bank transfer | Cleaner records, easier repeat transfers, less pickup friction |
| Recipient does not have a bank account | Cash pickup | More practical for the recipient, even if the paperwork is less elegant |
If the transfer is just personal support, both can work.
If the transfer may later support overseas dependent deduction (fuyou) in Japan, bank-account delivery is usually the cleaner long-term setup.
Why Fuyou Pushes You Toward Bank Delivery
Japan’s National Tax Agency guidance on non-resident dependents focuses on relationship documents and remittance-related documents.
That means the useful question is not only “Can the recipient get the money?” It is also:
- does the transfer record clearly show you as sender
- does it clearly show the specific dependent as recipient
- can you produce a clean trail across the year if HR or the tax office asks
That is why ordinary bank-account delivery usually wins if your real goal is family support plus future documentation.
What the Fees Look Like on a Typical Fuyou Transfer
There is no official NTA “standard fuyou amount,” but ¥380,000 is an important threshold in one common case. For non-resident relatives aged 30 to under 70 who do not fall under the study-abroad or disability exceptions, the NTA requires a 380,000 yen remittance document showing that the total paid to that specific person during the year reached ¥380,000 or more.
So this section uses two examples:
- ¥50,000 as a small monthly family-support transfer
- ¥380,000 as a threshold-style annual transfer when the NTA’s 30-69 support exception applies
This is per dependent. It is not a universal minimum for every overseas relative.
| Method | Official fee structure | Practical read for ¥50,000 | Biggest extra cost to watch |
|---|---|---|---|
| Wise | Wise’s live quote shows the exact fee before you send; its public route is JPY → HKD | Use the live quote as the benchmark for bank-account delivery | Live fee and rate change with timing and amount |
| Revolut | Revolut lists HKD as supported from Japan. Revolut says no international transfer fee, but Standard users have plan and weekend FX rules | Best checked on a weekday against Wise. Weekend FX markup alone can add about ¥500 on a ¥50,000 conversion | SWIFT / intermediary-bank deductions if the transfer routes that way |
| PayForex | PayForex publishes ¥1,980 for HKD bank transfer or USD bank transfer from JPY 1–599,999 | Clear fixed-fee alternative for small recurring support transfers | FX and any receiving-bank handling outside PayForex’s own fee |
| Bank wire (PRESTIA example) | PRESTIA publishes ¥3,500 online transfer fee, plus optional ¥1,500 correspondent-bank-charge instruction | Formal but usually expensive for a small monthly transfer | FX spread and intermediary / beneficiary-bank charges |
| Western Union direct | Japan-side pricing is quote-based | Check the live quote before sending | Cash convenience does not always mean lowest cost |
| Seven Bank + Western Union | Seven Bank’s newer app table shows ¥1,150 for credit-to-account and ¥1,200 for cash pickup at ¥40,001–¥50,000; older ATM/direct-banking tables can differ | Useful fee anchor if you already use Seven Bank | ATM timing fees and Seven Bank FX margin |
For a ¥380,000 threshold-style transfer, the fixed-fee routes read differently:
| Method | What changes at ¥380,000 |
|---|---|
| PayForex | The public PayForex fee for HKD bank transfer remains ¥1,980 within the JPY 1–599,999 tier. |
| Revolut | A single ¥380,000 weekday conversion can exceed the free Standard-plan monthly FX allowance by about ¥80,000, so compare the live Revolut quote against Wise before sending. |
| Bank wire / PRESTIA | A ¥3,500 transfer fee is expensive on ¥50,000, but less painful on ¥380,000 if you want formal bank records. |
Best Setup If the Recipient Has a Hong Kong Bank Account
For this corridor, this is usually the default recommendation.
Option 1: Wise
Wise currently has a dedicated public page for sending money from Japan to Hong Kong, and it presents the route as JPY → HKD with delivery to a recipient in Hong Kong.
That makes it much simpler than the Taiwan case.
The appeal here is familiar:
- transparent fees
- clear exchange-rate display
- bank-account delivery
- exportable transfer history
For regular personal remittances to a Hong Kong bank account, this is usually the first route I would check live.
Fee-wise, Wise is the cleanest live benchmark: it shows the fee, exchange rate, and amount received before you send. For Hong Kong, the important point is that the route is publicly presented as JPY → HKD, so the quote is much easier to interpret than the Taiwan corridor.
Option 2: Revolut
Revolut Japan’s official outbound supported-currency page lists HKD as a supported outbound transfer currency.
That makes Revolut a more natural Hong Kong candidate than it is for some other Asian corridors.
The practical caveats are still the usual ones:
- weekday vs weekend FX cost
- plan limits
- and whether you want app-based statements or more formal bank-style records
For people already using Revolut, Hong Kong is one of the Asian routes where it is genuinely worth comparing live against Wise.
On cost, Revolut can be strong on weekdays because HKD is officially supported from Japan and Revolut says it does not charge an international transfer fee. The caveats are plan limits, weekend FX markup, and possible intermediary-bank deductions if the transfer is processed through SWIFT.
Option 3: PayForex
PayForex is also worth comparing for Hong Kong.
Its public remittance-fee table lists ¥1,980 for HKD bank transfer and ¥1,980 for USD bank transfer from JPY 1–599,999.
That makes PayForex useful when:
- you want a fixed published fee instead of only a live quote
- the recipient has a Hong Kong bank account
- you care about a clean record trail for
fuyou
Option 4: Traditional bank wire
If the recipient has a normal Hong Kong bank account and you care more about documentation and formal banking records than about the cheapest spread, a traditional bank wire is still a valid option.
This route is often more reasonable when:
- the amount is larger
- the transfer is infrequent
- you want very formal records
- or you already use a bank like PRESTIA and prefer bank-issued remittance history
PRESTIA’s official overseas remittance page is the clearest example of the more formal side of this decision.
The cost tradeoff is clear: PRESTIA publishes a ¥3,500 online transfer fee, with an optional ¥1,500 correspondent-bank-charge instruction. FX spread and receiving-side bank charges can still apply.
Best Setup If the Recipient Does Not Have a Bank Account
If the person in Hong Kong does not have a bank account, the cleanest fallback is usually Western Union cash pickup.
Hong Kong’s official Western Union receive page says recipients can:
- receive money to a bank account, or
- collect it as cash at an agent location
For cash pickup, the recipient needs:
- the tracking number (MTCN)
- valid ID
- and the transfer details
This makes Western Union the most practical answer for:
- a recipient who does not use a bank account
- urgent family support
- or a one-off transfer where speed matters more than the cleanest paper trail
Western Union’s Japan-side pricing is quote-based, so check the live fee before sending. If you want a published Japan-side anchor, Seven Bank’s Western Union tables are easier to compare.
Seven Bank Is a Sending Channel, Not a Separate Hong Kong Network
Seven Bank matters here because many people in Japan already use it or trust it more than a remittance app.
Seven Bank’s official international money transfer page says the service works through Western Union, with sending available through:
- online banking
- the app
- and Seven Bank ATMs
Its FAQ also says:
- the service covers about 200 countries and territories
- recipient-country conditions can still differ
- and the service is for remitting to individuals, not for commercial purposes
So the practical read is:
| Route | Best when |
|---|---|
| Western Union directly | You want a flexible direct cash / bank route |
| Seven Bank + Western Union | You already use Seven Bank and want to send from that ecosystem |
For Hong Kong no-bank-account cases, Seven Bank is really just one convenient Japan-side doorway into Western Union.
For fees, Seven Bank’s newer Money Transfer App table shows ¥1,150 for credit-to-account and ¥1,200 for cash pickup at ¥40,001–¥50,000. Older Seven Bank ATM/direct-banking flows can use different fee tables, so check which Seven Bank service you are actually using.
Why Hong Kong Is Simpler Than Taiwan in One Important Way
This is worth saying directly if you are comparing the two corridors.
For Taiwan, the public Japan-side Wise route is less straightforward because the currently displayed flow is not presented as a simple public JPY → TWD bank-transfer path.
For Hong Kong, Wise does publicly present Japan → Hong Kong as a direct route, and Revolut also officially lists HKD as a supported outbound currency.
That means Hong Kong is one of the cleaner East Asian corridors for:
- regular monthly support
- salary savings transfers
- and family remittances into a normal bank account
Which Route Is Better for Fuyou
If this transfer is meant to support a parent or other relative in Hong Kong and may later be used in Japanese tax paperwork, this is the practical ranking:
| Route | Fuyou documentation quality | Practical read |
|---|---|---|
| Bank transfer to the dependent’s own Hong Kong account | Best | Cleanest sender / recipient matching |
| Formal bank wire or bank-issued remittance record | Strong | Helpful if your HR team is conservative |
| PayForex transfer with clear recipient detail | Often usable | Worth checking if you want a fixed published fee and bank-account route |
| Wise / Revolut transfer with clear recipient detail | Often usable | Good if the export clearly shows names, dates, and amounts |
| Western Union / Seven Bank cash pickup | Can work, but you need to keep the records carefully | Better for convenience than for elegant annual paperwork |
The NTA does not say “use this app” or “use that bank.” It cares about whether the remittance-related documents are strong enough and clearly tied to the relative you are claiming.
That is why the boring answer is often still the best one:
- use a Hong Kong bank account in the dependent’s own name if possible
The Most Common Mistakes on the Hong Kong Corridor
1. Treating cash pickup and tax-proof remittance as the same goal
They are not always the same thing. Cash pickup may be the easiest way for the recipient, but it is usually not the cleanest paperwork path.
2. Sending to a family account that does not clearly belong to the dependent you want to claim
If the relative you want to claim is your father, the cleanest trail is still money sent to his account or clearly to him through a formal remittance route.
3. Assuming bank wire is outdated and therefore always worse
For small routine transfers, that is often true on cost. For larger or documentation-heavy transfers, it can still be a very reasonable choice.
4. Forgetting that Seven Bank is still Western Union underneath
This is useful to remember because the receiving-side logic is still Western Union logic, not some separate Hong Kong-specific Seven Bank product.
A Simple Recommendation
If the recipient in Hong Kong has a bank account:
- check Wise first
- compare it with Revolut if you already use Revolut
- compare PayForex if you want a fixed published fee
- use a bank wire if you care more about formal records than the cheapest spread
If the recipient in Hong Kong does not have a bank account:
- use Western Union cash pickup
- or Seven Bank + Western Union if you already use Seven Bank
- keep the receipts carefully if the money may later support
fuyou
If your real goal is long-term family support with the least future paperwork friction, the best setup is still:
- help the relative receive money into their own Hong Kong bank account
That keeps the transfer side and the documentation side aligned.
Key sources: NTA English guidance on documents for non-resident dependent claims, Wise on sending money from Japan to Hong Kong, Revolut Japan on supported outbound transfer currencies and exchange fees, PayForex on remittance fees, PRESTIA on overseas remittance, Western Union Hong Kong on receiving money, and Seven Bank on its international money transfer service and FAQ. Fees, routes, and supported currencies change, so always confirm the live quote before sending.
