One of the biggest reasons that MobalPay is a great option if you’re new to Japan is that you can get a real prepaid Japanese Mastercard without having to have a Japanese bank account, most of which require you to have lived in Japan for at least six months. With MobalPay, anyone with a residency card can get a Real Japanese Mastercard, no matter how long they’ve been in the country!
Applying for MobalPay Without a Japanese Bank Account
As we don’t take any payment at the point of application, you don’t need a Japanese Bank Account in order to apply for MobalPay. As long as your ID passes our quick & secure checks, you’re practically guaranteed to be accepted. Anyone with a residency card can apply! We take the set-up fee for your card when you top up your account for the first time, which you can do in cash at banks all over Japan, even if you don’t have an account.
Topping Up Your MobalPay Account Without a Japanese Bank Account
You can top up your account by heading to an ATM in a bank. We recommend Mizuho Bank, as their ATMs offer an English language service. You can find detailed step-by-step instructions on how to do this here. If it’s your first top-up, we’ll simply deduct your set-up fee from your new balance and send your MobalPay card right to you, wherever you are in Japan. That’s it – you now have a real Japanese Mastercard, even without having a bank account! You can use it wherever a prepaid Mastercard is accepted, and do loads of cool stuff like top up an IC card (e.g. Suica) to use on your phone, and shop in store and online.
Next Step: Getting Yourself a Real Japanese Phone Number
Now that you’ve got a real Japanese Mastercard, you can level up your Japan life skills a step further and get yourself a real Japanese phone number! You can use your new MobalPay card to buy a Mobal SIM, giving you not only a real phone number that’ll unlock lots more banking options, but an array of flexible data plan options too – meaning you’ll have a prepaid card AND a SIM that you can use just like you’re back home. Get your Mobal SIM now!