Re: [tlug] [OT: recent legal changes for paypal in Japan?]

[Dave M G <dave@example.com>]

I'm just curious... I'd like to hear from anyone actually used Paypal 
for transferring money to or from overseas on this.

I looked into it recently, and from what I could tell, to send or 
recieve money overseas came with a roughly 3% service fee on the amount 
sent. That was on top of the exchange rates, which also included a fee.

From their site:

Withdraw Funds:     Free for ¥50,000 JPY or more, ¥250 JPY for ¥49,999 
JPY or less to bank accounts in Japan
Receive Funds:     2.9% + ¥40 JPY to 3.6% + ¥40 JPY
Multiple currency transactions:     Exchange rate includes a 2.5% fee

If someone sent you 300,000 yen, then you it costs you about 18,340 yen 
(assuming the worst: 3.6% + exchange fee of 2.5).

Sending and receiving money via bank has a flat transfer fee, ranging 
from about 30 to 60 dollars (to and from Canada).

Paypal would therefor only be advantageous in sending/receiving amounts 
of less than 50,000 to 100,000 yen (depending on which bank service you 
compared it to).

I know everyone has a different situations, and different needs, so I'm 
not looking for an absolute answer on Paypal being "good" or "bad".

The way I see it, Paypal is best for small transactions with lots of people.

If you do large transactions with a limited number of people, bank 
transfer is the way to go.

So do you strictly use Paypal for small transactions, or did I miss 
something that made Paypal more advantageous in other scenarios?

As for bureaucracy, I receive money via Shinsei bank, and send money via 
Lloyd's. In both cases, little to no hassle.

--
Dave M G