The Yen is the Japanese currency. It is ideal to know some basics of the Yen and its transactional values if you are planning for a leisure or business trip to Japan. It is also ideal to know about the basics of the Yen for the businesses collaborating with Japanese associates or for the investors exploring forex investments in the Yen. Here are some fundamental factors everyone needs to know about the Yen.
Japanese Yen – Kavan Choksi Japanexplains
Here are some basic factors of the Yen as explained by Kavan Choksi Japan.
One Yen is equal to 100 Sen, but Sen is not used much in everyday life of Japan except being shown in stock market pricing.
The bills in Japan used to come in 1000 yen or 2,000 yen and sometimes as 5000 yen or 8000 yen etc. The basic coins come in 1 yen, 5-yen, 10-yen, 50-yen, 100-yen, and 500-yen denominations. Usually, foreign currency may not be accepted for payments in Japan, except in some places at the airports for international flights.
Various payment methods
Japan is known to be a physical cash-based society; however, this trend is changing largely with a significant increase in secured other modes of payment over the internet. Further, we will discuss some of the common modes of payment in Japan.
Cash transactions
As we discussed above, physical cash is the most popular method of financial transactions in Japan, especially in smaller amounts. Bit bills are used and accepted readily in Japan. For example, you may use a 10,000-Yen currency bill for paying to even the low-cost goods. While traveling to Japan, it is ideal for keeping the smaller denominations too handy. It is appreciated to make payments like taxis, gift shops, shrines, temples, etc., to be paid in smaller denominations. There is also a high likelihood now that international credit cards are accepted in the smaller towns and cities too, but still, it is advisable to carry some cash while traveling to rural areas.
Credit cards
As of late, credit cards and debit cards are widely accepted in all places, especially in the big cities of Japan. All big hotels accept credit cards. You can also pay using credit or debit cards are department stores, restaurants, retail shops, malls, etc. Recently, train stations, supermarkets, convenience stores, boutiques, etc., have also recently accepted credit and debit cards.
Value cards/IC
Various IC cards like Icoca and Suica can be recharged and used as stored-value cards in Japan. This is one of the most flexible and convenient modes of payment at bus and trains stations. These cards can also be means of payment in big shops, hotels and restaurants, convenience stores, vending machines, and so on.
E-wallets and mobile payments
Many domestic services in Japan are popular for mobile payments, such as Rakuten Pay, Edy, Line Pay, PayPay, etc. Over the last few years, there has been a huge acceptance of mobile-based payments also, along with the IC cards. Most of these can be done through mobile phone and e-wallet applications, allowing NFC readers to tap or scan QR codes at the storefronts.
So, the payment system of Japan is slowly changing to cashless transactions. However, in any case, Kavan Choksi Japan points out that you may find that many places still accept cash only, and so he advises the travelers to Japan to carry some cash handy when traveling to Japan.
