Prepaid Japanese Payment Card

No, MobalPay is not a credit card. It's a prepaid card. You put money on it before you use it, and then you can pay for things online or in shops. You can only spend the money you added to the card, which makes it easy to manage your money.

No, MobalPay is not a debit card. It's a prepaid card. You add money to it before you use it by topping up.

Many foreign-issued cards are often not accepted in Japanese stores or on Japanese websites. Even on the rare occasion they are accepted, they often incur high fees.

Your MobalPay card is different. It’s a Japanese-issued Mastercard with few limitations. You can use it almost anywhere in Japan. However, since it’s a prepaid card, you can’t deposit your salary or withdraw cash from an ATM. Otherwise, you can use it like your Mastercard from home.

Since MobalPay is a prepaid card, you can't deposit your salary or withdraw cash from an ATM. Otherwise, you can use it like your Mastercard from home.

That’s the million ¥ question. For a country that’s known all over the world for its tech innovations, many new expats are shocked when they discover how reliant Japan is on paper-based bureaucracy and old-fashioned methods of communication. That makes getting any kind of banking set up when you first arrive a real headache. As for why it has to be so difficult? We can’t answer that, but it’s why we invented MobalPay.

No! We don’t have the residency requirements that traditional Japanese banks do, and we don’t need your credit history. You’ll be accepted if your ID passes our secure verification system.

Yes, you can get MobalPay if you have a Japan Residence Card, Japanese Driver’s License, or Diplomatic ID card. Acceptance is guaranteed!*

*Subject to ID and fraud checks.

If your ID is approved by our secure system, you’ll hear from us within one business day. You’ll then be able to top-up your MobalPay account for the first time, which allows us to send your card straight to you.

The quickest and easiest way to top up your MobalPay balance is by using cash at convenience stores all over Japan. You can also use cash at ATMs in Japanese banks, and if you also have a Japanese bank account, you can use a bank-book or cash card at an ATM, or make an online bank transfer. You can find detailed instructions for each of these at our Support Site.

The balance limit of your MobalPay account is ¥500,000 – more than enough for the vast majority of online transactions!

If there isn't enough money for the full monthly fee, we won't take the fee. Instead, we'll take it when you next top-up your card.

You can still use your remaining balance even if there's an unpaid monthly fee.

If you haven't paid the monthly fee, we won't charge you another one. We'll pause the billing until the fee is next paid. So, you could have a low or zero balance for months without any additional cost.