Send money to Japan
See today's live rates — and exactly what your recipient receives, after every fee.
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Today's best rates to Japan
As of 24 August 2026, sending £1,000 to Japan, your recipient gets the most with Revolut: 216,696.59 JPY, the best of 4 providers compared.
| Provider | Rate | Fee | Recipient gets | Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
216.70 0.12% worse | £0 | 216,696.59 JPY | Within 2 days | Send | |
217.15 0.09% better | £5.46 | 215,959.39 JPY | Within 2 days | Send | |
212.36 2.12% worse | £0 | 212,357.90 JPY | 1–2 days | Send | |
211.32 2.59% worse | £0 | 211,319.18 JPY | Up to 4 days | Send |
Money moving from the UK to Japan is largely business and living costs: firms paying Japanese suppliers and contractors, people relocating to Tokyo or Osaka for work, students and their families covering fees and rent, and a growing number of Britons buying property (unusually, Japan places no restriction on foreign buyers). The pound–yen rate is famously volatile, which cuts both ways — but a UK high-street bank quietly makes its money whichever way the market goes, keeping 2–4% of the transfer in a marked-up rate. On £10,000 that's a few hundred pounds before an obvious fee. Japan uses the yen, so every transfer converts your pounds, and getting that conversion right is where the money is won or lost.
How to send money to Japan from the UK
There are three practical ways to move money from the UK to a Japanese bank account. Nearly all get the money there — the difference is how many yen arrive after the pounds are converted.
Bank transfer
The most familiar option — and consistently the most expensive, and slow. UK banks mark up the exchange rate by roughly 2–4% and send by SWIFT, which takes 2–5 days and can pass through intermediary banks that take a cut. On £10,000 the markup alone is a few hundred pounds.
Money-transfer provider
Specialists — Wise, Currencies Direct, XE, Moneycorp — exist to beat bank rates, using the mid-market rate with a small, clear fee. For a business paying Japanese suppliers regularly, a multi-currency account that holds yen can also help you time conversions on a volatile pair.
App or cash pickup
Apps like Wise and Revolut are quick and competitive; providers like Western Union can even do near-instant cash pickup. For a pure transfer into a Japanese bank account, a dedicated provider usually beats a card.
What you need to send money to Japan
Japanese bank details
Japan doesn't use the IBAN system. Its domestic network (the Zengin system) identifies accounts by codes, so you'll need the bank name and 4-digit bank code, the branch name and 3-digit branch code, the account number, the account holder's name (often required in katakana), and the bank's SWIFT/BIC code for the international leg. It's more fields than a European transfer, so copy them carefully.
ID checks and verification
UK providers are legally required to verify who you are before processing a payment (Know Your Customer, under the Money Laundering Regulations). For a first transfer or a modest amount, expect to provide your name, address and date of birth, plus a photo ID and proof of address. Transfers above roughly £8,000–£10,000 commonly trigger a source-of-funds check (see Tax, below).
How long does it take to send money to Japan?
Because Japan uses the yen and sits outside the EU, your provider converts your pounds and pays yen into the Japanese account. How fast that happens depends far more on the provider than on the destination.
Delays are usually caused by one of: missing the provider's daily cut-off, first-time identity verification, weekends or bank holidays in the UK or Japan, or incorrect recipient codes.
Fees and exchange rates for UK to Japan
A flat fee is easy to compare — the exchange-rate margin usually isn't, which is why it matters more, and the pound–yen pair's volatility makes timing count too. Here's where the cost hides.
The exchange-rate margin
The real cost of most transfers. Banks: 2–4% above the mid-market rate. Specialists: often a fraction of a percent. On £10,000+ the gap is routinely £200–£350.
GBP/JPY volatility & timing
Sterling–yen can move sharply. For a large or dated payment — a property completion, a big supplier invoice — a forward contract to lock today's rate can matter more than shaving the fee.
Correspondent-bank fees
Because Japan is outside the EU, a bank SWIFT wire can pass through intermediary banks that each deduct a cut. Specialists that pay yen locally usually avoid this entirely.
Is it safe to send money to Japan?
Any UK company handling money transfers must be authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority, and must keep customer money in accounts fully segregated from its own ("safeguarding"). Some smaller firms are only registered as Small Payment Institutions, which aren't required to safeguard the same way — so a 30-second check on the FCA Register before you send an unfamiliar firm anything is time well spent. (Good news for buyers: Japan places no restriction on foreign nationals owning property, so a purchase is legally straightforward — but still use an independent lawyer and confirm bank details before sending a completion payment.)
Invoice / "new bank details" fraud
Rule: if a supplier or business emails to say their bank details have changed, confirm it by phone on a number you already had, never one from the email. This is the most common way businesses are tricked into paying a fraudster.
Property completion diversion
Rule: before a completion payment, verify the receiving account by phone with your lawyer or agent on a trusted number. Treat any last-minute "changed details" email with extreme suspicion.
"Better rate" cold-call / clone firm
Rule: a firm that calls out of the blue with an unbeatable rate may be a clone of a real one. Check it on the FCA Register and call back on the number listed there, not the one you were given.
Check the firm is regulated
Rule: FCA-authorised firms must keep your money separate from their own, so it's protected if the firm fails. Look the firm up on register.fca.org.uk before you commit.
Report fraud: Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or at actionfraud.police.uk (in Scotland, Police Scotland on 101).
Tax on money sent to Japan
Moving your own money
Sending your own, already-taxed money from the UK to Japan is not a UK taxable event — there's no tax simply for transferring it, and no requirement to report a personal transfer to HMRC. Larger transfers commonly prompt a source-of-funds request, so keep the paperwork showing where the money came from.
Watch-out: gifts and Japan's gift tax
If it's a gift, it can affect UK Inheritance Tax on your estate if you die within seven years. Note too that Japan has its own gift tax, which can fall on the recipient — so if you're gifting a substantial sum to someone in Japan (for a property deposit, say), take Japanese tax advice before sending.
How do most people send money to Japan?
For most businesses, expats and buyers, the cheapest route is a specialist currency company that converts your pounds to yen and pays straight into a Japanese account — not a UK high-street bank whose SWIFT wire adds a 2–4% rate markup and takes days. On a volatile pair like GBP/JPY, a multi-currency account or a forward contract can help you control the rate on a large or dated payment. Whichever you choose, judge it by the yen that actually arrive, and copy the bank and branch codes exactly before you send.
Frequently asked questions about sending money to Japan
A specialist money-transfer provider that converts pounds to yen at or near the mid-market rate, rather than a UK high-street bank marking up the rate by 2–4% on a slow SWIFT wire. Compare the actual yen that arrive for your exact amount in the table above — and on a volatile pair, the timing of your transfer matters too.
No — Japan doesn't use IBANs. You'll need the bank name and code, branch name and code, the account number, the account holder's name (often in katakana) and the bank's SWIFT/BIC code. It's more fields than a European transfer, so copy them carefully.
With a specialist provider, hours to same day, and some providers offer near-instant cash pickup. A traditional bank wire (SWIFT) usually takes 2–5 business days. First transfers can take a little longer while your identity is verified.
Yes — Japan places no restriction on foreign nationals owning property, and you don't need residency to buy. Payment is by international transfer to the seller or a designated account. Because completion is usually weeks away and GBP/JPY is volatile, many buyers lock the rate with a forward contract, and mind that Japan has its own taxes on property and gifts.
Not on the UK side for sending your own money — that's not a taxable event, and there's nothing to report to HMRC. Gifting money can have UK Inheritance Tax implications if you die within seven years — and Japan has its own gift tax that can fall on the recipient, so take advice before gifting a large sum.
Sterling–yen is one of the more volatile major pairs, so the day you convert can change how many yen arrive by more than the fee does. For a large or future-dated payment, a forward contract from a specialist lets you lock today's rate and remove that uncertainty.
Our sources & how we keep this current
Last updated: July 2026. The live rates above refresh automatically, and we review the rest of this guide every month — updating it whenever the rules on payments, tax or regulation change.