If you live in Japan and came from a different country, you obviously know about Smiles mobile remittance app. This is the most popular app in Japan for sending money to other countries. In this article, we will look at different aspects of the app and services provided by Smiles remittance.
I am using this service for about 2 years, and here is what I found about the Smiles remittance app and service.
What is Smiles mobile remittance?
Digital Wallet Co., Ltd provides smiles remittance service. The companies goal is to create a cashless society by creating a process for electronic money transfer. Kanto Finance Legal Bureau licenses this service as a money service business. The headquarters of the company is in Tokyo, Japan.
Smiles remittance service is one of the most popular ways to send money to other countries from Japan and very helpful for foreigners living in Japan.
Smiles mobile remittance app
There are apps available for both android and iOS. I have tried both apps (I initially used the android app and now mostly use the iOS app), and the app works well enough.
When I started using the app about 2 years ago, the UI of the app looked old at that time. But recently, there is a big update in the app, which looks and works great. The options in the app are clear and very intuitive.
How to register for the service?
To register, you have to create an account using your email address. Then you have to verify your account using any valid ID card. A valid residence card or MyNumber card can be used to verify the account. It may take few days(1-3 days mentioned on the site) for the account approval.
In my case, it took 2 days for the account approval.
How to deposit money?
Depositing money is very simple in the app. There are few ways you can do it. Like,
- Money transfer from your bank account.
- Money transfer via an online account.
- Cash via ATM or bank counter.
Using these deposit processes is very easy; you have to just deposit the money in any of the above-mentioned ways and then report the deposit in the app. To report the deposit, just go to the report deposit screen, take a picture of your deposit slip, select your method, enter the amount of money deposited and submit it for review.
I normally deposit using my Japan Post Bank account, and the deposit approval takes 8-10 minutes, or sometimes even less time.
There are different cards available to deposit money to Smiles remittance wallet. These cards can be ordered directly from the app.
- The smiles wallet card is a Japan Post Bank ATM card. This card can be used to deposit money directly into your Smiles wallet.
- SMLINK card is also an ATM card that can be used to send money directly to the beneficiary’s account without using the app.
- Smiles AEON card can be used to deposit money using AEON Bank ATM.
- Smiles Premium card is also a Japan Post Bank ATM card and can be used to send money directly to the beneficiary’s account without using the app. This premium card is preferred if you send more than 100,000JPY, as it has a big transfer limit.
I ordered a smiles wallet card, and these are the materials they provided in the parcel.
1.The card
2. some papers with information of fee and how to deposit money
3. some other papers with related info
If you deposit money using a Smiles wallet card, you do not need to report the deposit from the app. It will be automatically added to your digital wallet. Just follow the process mentioned in the document, and you are good to go. Immediately after depositing money using the Smiles wallet card, it will show that there is a deposit made, and it’s under a verification process. After about 8-10 min the amount was added to the digital wallet balance.
How to send money?
When the deposit is complete, you will see the money in your digital wallet in the app.
Next, you have to add one or more beneficiaries, and then select the beneficiary, enter the amount and send.
In my case, the money reaches to beneficiary’s account in 20min to 1Hour, on normal business days.
In some cases, Smiles uses other money transfer services (like Ria money transfer) depending on the country you are sending money to. So the name of that money transfer service would appear in your beneficiary’s transaction statement details.
Smiles remittance customer service
Customer service is good. You can send messages to customer service from the app or using Line.
I have interacted with the support 2-3 times(from the app), and the response was quick, and the question was answered properly.
Smiles remittance limitations
- The limit of a transaction from a Bank depends on the bank. The app or Smiles service has no restriction in that case.
- Smiles wallet card has a limit of 100,000JPY per deposit.
- SMLINK card has a limit of 100,000JPY per transaction.
- Smiles AEON card has limitations of 100,000JPY per transaction.
- Smiles Premium card has a limit of 1,000,000JPY per transaction. This is the preferred card if you want to send a large amount of money.
- Smiles does not accept payment from a credit card. All transactions need to be done using a bank account.
- Depositing money from someone else’s account is not allowed. You have to use your own account for a deposit.
- Depositing from a bank account of a company or organization is not allowed.
You can check the full terms and conditions using the link – https://www.smileswallet.com/terms/tc/.
How reliable is the service?
I found the service very reliable. Each and every aspect of the service is nice.
- The exchange rate is very good. You can check the exchange rate from https://www.smileswallet.com/exchange-rate/.
- Has options to send money to lots of different countries.
- App workes well.
- Deposit and transfer are speedy.
- The fee is minimal. You can check the fees from https://www.smileswallet.com/service-fees/.
- The remittance certificate is available for download.
- The service has a reward point system, which I use to reduce the transfer fee even more.
Final thoughts
I am using the app for 2 years and will keep using the app. It has made the process of sending money very easy from Japan. As the app is getting frequent updates, I am curious about new features or improvements in the coming years. If you live in Japan and want to send money to other countries (maybe to your family), then Smiles remittance service is highly recommended.