GoRemit app 4+

The expectation, when Shinsei Bank launched this app, was that Shinsei has got the act together.

But it seems like something has gone wrong in a big way. Usually the digitization makes the process faster, but here it has gone in the opposite way, totally.

The registration after downloading the app takes 2-3 weeks. Registering a beneficiary is supposed to take 2-3 months! There is a pre-defined limit (abysmally small) and if you want to change it, it takes another 3-4 weeks; and the process can start only after beneficiary registration!

The Helpdesk people seem as helpless as they can be. I can only imagine the reasons- either the internal operation team has made their processes super complicated or they have gone totally non-cooperative OR somebody at the top has decided that they want to shut down this business.

I mean who will want to wait for 4-5 months to transfer the money?

The only saving grace was that they were at least available to talk to, though without any use, in English, after a wait of 15-20 mins.

I will say this, if you want to make remittance, better look some place else. This will be pretty inefficient, frustrating and dumbfounded experience.

Note: Only if there was a zero star, I would have chosen that.

It’s possible there is a worse bank somewhere in the known universe, but I think it will be very hard to find.

If you are here for the Go-Remit App, my condolences.

You can enjoy a 3-week plus approval process just to register the app.

After that, expect a 1-2 month approval process to register a beneficiary (destination) bank.

If you need to send more than 1.2 mln yen (~$11k US), you can then expect to wait another month or two for a limit request change to be processed. Note this can only be started AFTER you completed the above step of registering both the app and a beneficiary bank.

Do you need help with the app? The average wait time for me for an English speaker was 30 minutes, and the help line is only open for 6 hours a day? 9am to 3pm.

All that done? You are now ready to make an overseas transfer! Congratulations. Just note that Shinsei offers no in-branch transfer services, and no ability to expedite this process, even for a fee. GO-REMIT is the ONLY way to transfer money internationally from Shinsei.

Welcome to Hell, where every branch is a Shinsei branch!

So difficult to use - takes long to register and every single step takes a week for the bank to process/ review! Waste of time!
A week+ to set up the account, then another week+ (instead of 1-3 days per its website), and another week to link the system to my bank account. I’m still waiting for the reply from them on linking the account and god knows if there are any other steps I need to do after this before I can really do a transfer!!!