How to Cash US Stimulus Check Part 2: Paperwork Hustle

    Anyone who has done any kind of banking or business in Japan will likely tell you that paperwork is the lay of the land and a constant plague on anyone who only wanted things to run smoothly while being anything less than perfect. There is no reason to assume cashing a Coronavirus stimulus check (or Economic Impact Payment) should be any different.

    Since my last post on this topic, I received the family register showing my maiden name exclusively in katakana. I called the bank and quickly received the forms for depositing checks the next day. These were great in that they provided an example printed copy. That said, there were a number of problems.

    Despite receiving a large file in the mail from the bank and several letters, I did not have my proper bank account number nor the understanding that I had somehow signed up for both a yen savings account AND a Multimoney Account for foreign currency. The savings account number is found on the debit card I received in the mail, but the multimoney account number was only obtained after another call to the bank when I asked why the form required a bank account number starting with an 8 and was sure I had messed it up. It turns out the multimoney account is for cashing the checks and will start with an 8 or 9. The number on the card is only for the yen savings account from which to draw money to cover the check cashing fees.


4044 is a common starting set for the stimulus checks, apparently.

    The next problem was the check numbers, something I have so little experience with that it was difficult to even search the internet for it. As it turns out, US government check numbers can be found in the upper right corner of the check and include 12 digits split into a group of four followed by a group of eight. Cashing this check at a bank you cannot physically go to requires filling out a form that includes this information.

    Cashing a check at this bank costs 5000 yen per check, which means I needed to get 10,000 yen into the savings account. I made the mistake, back when I didn't know what type of account this was, of going to a local bank where I have an account and piecing my way through initiating a money transfer via ATM. The money bounced back to that regional bank because I gave the wrong account type, not knowing that the number belonged to a savings account and not being able to find "multimoney" as an option on the Japanese ATM.

    When I called SMBC again to ask about this, the associate suggested I use the Seven-Eleven or Japan Post Bank ATMs, where I can deposit money directly into my account using the debit card they already sent me. I was shocked by how easy that was and did it the next day.

    After a week of calling the bank at least every other day, I was under the impression that I needed to send the completed check deposit form to the bank along with proof of my identity under both my maiden and current names, which in my case included a photocopy of my gaijin card and ridiculously expired Texas driver's license. The checks would also need to be sent along, endorsed, and in registered mail.


When you're sending several thousand dollars in checks through the mail, you want someone signing for it.

    I attempted to look up information on registered mail on the way to the post office but it went awry when the guy at the counter wanted to sell me envelopes instead. I opted for a signed-for Yu-Pack envelope, in which I deposited everything I had to send for 520 yen.


Technically the business reply envelope could have been sent separately but I thought it would be easier to keep them all together.

    I thought my part of this was over for a moment. Then I got a few calls from a strange number and chose to answer. It turns out I made the mistakes of not noting the currency correctly on a few of the forms as well as incorrectly labelling both checks as "tax refund" when one was supposed to be "Economic Impact Payment" instead. The original form was sent back to me to complete with notes in English of exactly where to write what and how to correct the mistakes using my hanko. In addition, they wondered why I had not included the family register that I had been told not to include by one staff who fully believed that the katakana would render it useless. Other associates had not been so sure but this was the last person I talked to before I sent it all off the first time.

    At the time of this writing, I have finished fixing that form and sent it back with the family register. Hopefully all of this goes through smoothly from here on in.

<How to Cash US Stimulus Check in Japan: Step 1>