Sending Money from Japan to Vietnam — The Best Rates and Methods (2026)
The best ways to send money from Japan to Vietnam in 2026 ranked by total cost. Wise wins for most cases (¥600-900 per transfer), Japanese bank wires are the worst (¥4,000-7,500). 5-year savings: ¥264k.
Why this matters for Vietnamese workers in Japan
Most Vietnamese workers in Japan send a meaningful share of their salary home each month — to family, to repay loans, to save in VND. The wrong remittance method can cost you ¥3,000-8,000 per transfer. Multiply by 12 months × 5 years and you're losing hundreds of thousands of yen to fees.
Here are the actual options ranked by total cost (fees + exchange rate margin) for typical transfers, with the trade-offs.
Total cost ranking for ¥100,000 transfer to Vietnam (2026)
| Rank | Service | Total cost | Speed | Notes |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Wise (formerly TransferWise) | ¥600-900 | 30 min - 24h | Best for most cases. Mid-market exchange rate. |
| 2 | Sendvalu / WireMyBank | ¥700-1,200 | 1-2 business days | Honest middlemen, good for larger amounts |
| 3 | SBI Remit | ¥1,000-1,500 | Same-day | Japan-based, popular among VN workers; fees vary by amount |
| 4 | Western Union | ¥1,500-2,500 | Minutes | Fast for cash pickup; bad rate |
| 5 | MoneyGram | ¥1,500-2,500 | Minutes | Same as WU |
| 6 | Japan Post / Yucho remittance | ¥2,000-4,000 | 3-7 business days | Cumbersome paperwork; high fees |
| 7 | Japanese bank wire (Mizuho, MUFG, etc.) | ¥4,000-7,500 | 1-3 business days | Worst option for individual workers |
Wise — why it's usually best
- Uses the mid-market exchange rate (the rate banks use between themselves)
- Transparent flat fee + small percentage (around 0.5-1% total)
- Mobile app fully in Japanese (and Vietnamese in some regions)
- Tracking, confirmation, and notifications throughout
- Limit per transfer: ¥1M+ per transaction
Limitations:
- Requires VN recipient bank account (no cash pickup direct)
- First transfer requires identity verification (5-10 min photos + ID upload)
- Some VN banks not supported (mostly works with Vietcombank, Techcombank, BIDV, etc.)
SBI Remit — popular for cash to family
Japanese service that lets you remit to Vietnam, with the option of:
- Recipient bank account (cheapest, similar to Wise)
- Recipient cash pickup at convenience stores in Vietnam (small fee premium, useful when family doesn't have a bank account)
SBI Remit is widely advertised in Vietnamese-speaking communities in Japan. Good service, reliable, slightly more expensive than Wise but acceptable.
What NOT to use
- Bank-to-bank international wire from Japan: ¥4,000-7,500 in fees + bad exchange rate. The worst option.
- "Hawala" / informal money transfer through someone you know: illegal under Japan's Anti-Money Laundering Act. Risky and may be intercepted.
- PayPay / LINE Pay to a Vietnamese e-wallet: doesn't work for cross-border. Don't fall for "agents" who claim it does.
- WeChat Pay / Alipay routing through China to Vietnam: grey area, slow, fees stack up.
The math on a typical worker's annual remittance
Assume you send ¥80,000/month home. ¥960k/year. Comparing top options:
| Service | Yearly fees | Yearly extra you keep |
|---|---|---|
| Wise | ~¥7,200 | baseline |
| SBI Remit | ~¥12,000 | −¥4,800 |
| Western Union | ~¥24,000 | −¥16,800 |
| Japanese bank wire | ~¥60,000 | −¥52,800 |
Over a 5-year SSW contract: choosing Wise over Japanese bank wire = ¥264,000 in your family's pocket.
Step-by-step: first Wise transfer to Vietnam
- Download Wise app (App Store / Google Play). Choose Japanese or Vietnamese interface.
- Sign up with your Japanese phone number + email.
- Verify identity: take a photo of your zairyu card (front + back) and a selfie. 5 minutes.
- Add a Japanese bank account (Yucho, Mizuho, etc.) for funding.
- Add recipient: VN bank account info. Wise will format it correctly.
- Set transfer amount and confirm — Wise locks the exchange rate.
- Pay via bank transfer or instant Furikomi.
- Track the transfer in the app until it reaches the recipient (usually under 24h).
For larger transfers (¥500k+)
If you're sending savings (not monthly support), consider:
- Wise large transfers: fee % drops below 0.5% for amounts over ¥500k. Still cheapest.
- Sendvalu: can beat Wise on transfers over ¥1M, worth comparing.
- OFX: excellent for ¥3M+ transfers, can save additional ¥10-30k vs Wise on big amounts.
Tax implications
Money you send home from your Japanese salary is post-tax — there's no additional Japanese tax on it. Your family in Vietnam may need to declare it depending on local rules (usually no tax for personal remittances under typical worker amounts).
If you're sending business income (e.g., you have a side business invoicing foreign clients), that's different — see our remote work tax article.