Bank transfers are a common payment method for business-to-business (B2B) transactions in Japan. However, the transfer fees incurred with every transaction can add up to a significant expense, so they cannot simply be ignored due to their potential to put pressure on a company’s profits.

Beyond these charges, the administrative burden of bank transfers is a serious obstacle to improving operational efficiency.

In this article, we will focus specifically on corporate clients to provide an in-depth explanation of the importance of reducing bank transfer fees, ways to achieve those savings, and the challenges associated with transactions that rely primarily on bank transfers.

Key takeaways

• Bank transfer fees can put pressure on profits, so finding ways to reduce them is important.
  
• One way to reduce transfer fees is to use internet banking.
  
• For transactions that primarily rely on bank transfers, concerns extend beyond the costs borne by buyers to the workload sellers face when reconciling accounts.
  
• To ensure that B2B transactions run smoothly for both buyers and sellers, it is central to establish a refined payment infrastructure.
  
• Stripe Invoicing handles all invoicing needs, including automatically generating invoices and managing data effectively.
  

Why reducing bank transfer fees is important

Bank transfers are a common way to pay in B2B transactions and everyday life. Almost everyone has paid for goods or services by bank transfer at least once.

As a general rule, the burden of bank transfer fees falls on the payer, as stipulated in Japan’s Civil Code. As a result, when paying by bank transfer, the charge could be added to the invoice amount.

When individuals use a bank transfer to purchase on a major ecommerce mall, they generally pay a single transfer fee.

By contrast, companies rely on bank transfers for a wide range of activities, including salary payments and transactions with customers and other businesses. In Japanese B2B commerce, bank transfers are almost always the preferred option. Although the charge per transaction is small, the high volume of activity results in high monthly and annual costs, ultimately eroding profitability.

Given this context, minimizing transfer fees goes beyond cutting costs—it is a key step toward improving a business’s cash flow and financial health.

Typical bank transfer fees

While pricing varies by financial institution, these charges generally range from ¥110 to ¥880. The following factors largely determine the amount:

• Amount being transferred: Is the amount more or less than ¥30,000? (Some banks have recently been charging a flat fee regardless of the amount being transferred.)
  
• Financial institution receiving transfer: Is the transfer within the same bank or to a different one?
  
• If the receiving bank is the same: Is it the same branch or a different one?
  
• Transfer method: Was the transfer made by ATM, at the counter with a teller, or through internet banking?
  

A corporate cash card might also lower ATM withdrawal costs compared with handling physical currency.

Generally speaking, bank teller transfers have the highest fees, followed by ATMs, with internet banking offering the lowest costs.

For instance, some financial institutions waive charges for transfers sent through internet banking to another branch of the same institution. On the other hand, sending money to another bank at a teller counter is the most expensive option, with fees typically ranging from ¥880 to ¥1,000.

Many different banks might be used, depending largely on the company making the transaction. Therefore, you need to carefully review the pricing structure for the bank your company uses.

Key methods for reducing bank transfer fees

To reduce bank transfer fees, we recommend starting by reviewing your financial institution’s services and payment methods, as described below:

Transfer using internet banking

Internet banking refers to digital financial services provided by institutions with physical branches. The corresponding option is sometimes called “online banking payment” and is one of the major online payment methods.

As explained in the previous section, sending funds via internet banking sometimes incurs no charge or costs less than visiting a teller or ATM. Accordingly, using your company’s main bank’s online service can effectively reduce your transfer fees.

Use an online bank

With corporate accounts at online banks without physical branches, transfer fees are often as low as ¥100, which offers substantial savings, especially if you make a lot of transfers over time.

While this offers cost savings, it doesn’t decrease the time spent making transfers. Because online banks don’t have tellers, their support is often limited. In particular, businesses that handle a large volume of physical currency must use both their primary bank and an online bank, since there are no branches capable of handling direct cash deposits or large-volume deposits and cash withdrawals.

Pay by credit card

With credit card payments using corporate cards for B2B transactions, there is no need to process transfers during bank business hours, and no transfer fees are incurred.

Still, corporate spending cards have limits similar to personal cards, so you need to be careful not to overspend.

Use a payment transfer service

A payment transfer service allows businesses to make bulk payments to various recipients, such as suppliers for accounts payable and employees for payroll, online on their behalf.

By submitting multiple transfers at once, companies decrease the number of direct bank transfers and related charges while lightening the accounting department’s workload.

Challenges when billing bank transfer transactions

When trying to find ways to lower bank transfer fees, it is important to focus not just on the “choice of bank” by the payer (the buyer), who faces the challenge of fees squeezing profits, but also on the challenges posed by bank transfers for the payee (the seller) in terms of payment confirmation and reconciliation workflows.

For example, since the more bank transfers there are, the more complex the billing process becomes, this could place an excessive workload on accounting staff responsible for confirming incoming funds and reconciling accounts. In particular, if reconciliation is handled manually, errors such as missed payments or underpayments might go undetected, or follow-up reminders could be delayed.

Therefore, to ensure a smooth and simple settlement process in B2B transactions from invoicing (seller) → payment (buyer) → confirmation of receipt, reconciliation, and follow-up (seller), it is key for both sellers and buyers to collaborate on a payment infrastructure tailored to their mutual needs. Such collaboration fosters long-term relationships and strengthens trust between the two companies.

Enhancing the payments infrastructure in B2B transactions

How can sellers improve their payment infrastructure to ensure a smooth experience for both parties? To achieve this, sellers first need to conduct a comprehensive review of the billing and collection workflow, introduce a system to automate and centralize data management, and then implement the following operational measures.

Consider introducing payment methods other than bank transfers

Offering multiple ways to pay beyond bank transfers, such as credit cards, can help reduce the burden of transfer fees for buyers, thereby enhancing transaction convenience and strengthening your brand image.

In addition, if you are a business owner considering expanding overseas, supporting cashless payment methods, which are increasingly common in Japan and abroad, will help attract international customers.

Establish a smooth payment process

By adopting automated collection management systems provided by payment agents and setting up a straightforward payment process, you can offer buyers a smooth experience regardless of whether they use bank transfers or other options. Greater customer satisfaction and goodwill help build and maintain strong commercial relationships.

The system also limits manual data-entry errors in billing information and lightens back-office workload.

Centralize billing data management

By centrally managing all billing and collections data in a single system, you can prevent errors such as incorrect addressing of invoices and failed reconciliations after receipt, increase transparency in sales management, and significantly simplify accounting operations.

A centralized management system also tracks overdue invoices and outstanding balances in real time, supports timely reminders and early action, and ultimately lowers the risk of uncollected funds.

How Stripe Invoicing can help

Stripe Invoicing simplifies your accounts receivable (AR) process—from invoice creation to payment collection. Whether you’re managing one-time or recurring billing, Stripe helps businesses get paid faster and streamline operations:

• Automate accounts receivable: Easily create, customize, and send professional invoices—no coding required. Stripe automatically tracks invoice status, sends payment reminders, and processes refunds, helping you stay on top of your cash flow.

• Accelerate cash flow: Reduce days sales outstanding (DSO) and get paid faster with integrated global payments, automatic reminders, and AI-powered dunning tools that help you recover more revenue.

• Enhance the customer experience: Deliver a modern payment experience with support for 25+ languages, 135+ currencies, and 100+ payment methods. Invoices are easy to access and pay through a self-serve customer portal.

• Reduce back-office workload: Generate invoices in minutes and reduce time spent on collections through automatic reminders and a Stripe-hosted invoice payment page.

• Integrate with your existing systems: Stripe Invoicing integrates with popular accounting and enterprise resource planning (ERP) software, helping you keep systems in sync and reduce manual data entry.

Learn more about how Stripe can simplify your accounts receivable process, or get started today.