A credit card is necessary when shopping on the Internet. However, it is very difficult to get a credit card in Japan. In this article, I will introduce you to some convenient prepaid cards that can be purchased at convenience stores.
Vanilla Visa Gift Card
“The Vanilla Visa Gift Card is the first prepaid card in Japan that can be purchased at convenience stores and used at actual stores (Visa member stores). The Vanilla Visa Gift Card is the first prepaid card in Japan that can be purchased at convenience stores and used at brick-and-mortar Visa merchants.
How to buy a Vanilla Visa Card
The purchase process is very simple. When you go to a convenience store, you will usually find them on a hanger like this.
Bring it to the cashier and decide how much you want to charge, between 3,000 yen and 10,000 yen and after that you’re all done.
How to use your Vanilla VISA Card
If you want to use your Vanilla VISA Card at a physical store, just present the card as it is and you can directly use it. However, if you want to use it online, you still need to go through the initial procedure.
For the initial procedure:
First, you need to prepare the Vanilla Visa Gift Card you purchased and as well as your smartphone. Go to the following page and enter “The card tracking ID” of the card you have.
You will receive an SMS with a 4-digit number and that will be your password, so go back to the site and enter it.
You can check the balance of your Vanilla Visa card at the following website.
Use with points for convenience
Vanilla VISA Card cannot be used when the balance drops below 9 yen. So, the best way to use it up to exactly 0 yen is to use it along with your loyalty cards. For example, you can use Rakuten points, T points, and Ponta points at the same time to use up all your points.
Also, Amazon gift certificates can be purchased in increments of one yen as long as the amount is 100 yen or more, so this is a good way to use up the entire amount.
I have also written an article on the best way to use point cards, if you would like to read it just check this site.
Points to remember
As with most prepaid cards, there are some Visa merchants that do not accept the Vanilla Visa Card. For example, it cannot be used for recurring monthly payments or automatic renewal procedures. It should also be noted that it does not support identity authentication (3D Secure).
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