Hanko vs. Signature for Bank Operations
Hanko bank Japan practice comes down to one registration choice when you open an account: a bank seal impression or a fixed signature pattern. That choice becomes the reference your bank checks later, so it pays to make it deliberately at the counter.12
Procedures, fees, and requirements can change. Confirm current details at SBI Shinsei Bank, SMBC Trust Bank PRESTIA, MUFG Bank, Rakuten Bank, or Japan Post Bank, depending on where you plan to open your account.
Overview
When you open a personal account in Japan, the bank registers how you will verify yourself later. Traditional counters register the impression of your 銀行印 (ginkoin, "bank seal") and keep it on file for that account.34 Banks that offer the signature option register a fixed signature pattern instead, and that pattern becomes the later reference.12
Most banks now offer foreign openers the signature choice, but in-person counters still default to asking for a seal. The rest of this article separates the historical seal rule from the current signature option, then gives the practical choice at opening and after.
The Bank Seal Rule: What Ginkoin Registration Means
The bank seal rule is the older norm behind the question every new opener hears at the counter. Understanding what the bank actually keeps on file makes the signature alternative easier to judge.
What the bank keeps on file
Your 銀行印 (ginkoin, "bank seal") is a personal seal you register with one specific bank for that bank's transactions. The bank keeps the impression on file as the verification reference for your account.34
Two other seals are often confused with it. The table below keeps them apart.
| Term | Reading | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 銀行印 | ginkoin | Bank seal, registered with your bank for banking transactions3 |
| 実印 | jitsuin | Registered official seal, registered at your municipal office for high-stakes acts3 |
| 認印 | mitomein | Everyday seal, unregistered, used for routine acknowledgements4 |
| 印鑑 | inkan | Seal or seal impression, the general term3 |
A bank seal should be uniquely engraved. MUFG tells in-person openers that rubber stamps cannot be used for its personal-seal requirement.5 A cheap ready-made seal from a 100-yen shop works as an everyday seal but is not the right tool to register with a bank.4
A uniquely engraved seal is harder to replace fraudulently than a mass-produced one, and the bank compares later impressions against the registered reference. Bring a dedicated seal to the opening appointment if you plan to register one.
Which operations traditionally asked for the seal
Before cash cards, PINs, and online banking spread, the seal impression was the counter identity check. In-branch withdrawals, large transfers, account closure, and seal-change procedures were the operations where staff compared your stamp against the file copy.4
MUFG still lists a personal seal as a required pre-visit item for residents working in Japan, for residents of longer than six months, and for non-residents alike.5 That published list is the clearest bank-primary evidence that the seal-first norm survives at traditional counters.
PRESTIA names a concrete bank-primary example of a later check: fund transfers exceeding 5 million yen or the equivalent require seal or signature verification (as of 2026-09; confirm current figures with SMBC Trust Bank PRESTIA).6 Professional guides describe the trigger more loosely, sometimes citing amounts around 500,000 yen, so treat any single figure outside the named bank as approximate.4
The Signature Option Most Banks Now Offer
The signature option leaves the verification logic unchanged and swaps only the reference. You register a fixed pattern at opening, then reproduce that pattern when the bank asks.
The diagram above shows the single decision point and the two parallel verification paths it creates. Everything after opening follows whichever reference you registered.
How signature registration works at the counter
SBI Shinsei Bank states directly that a personal seal is not necessary and that a PowerFlex account can be opened with a signature.1 SMBC Trust Bank PRESTIA lists "Seal (if you wish to register your seal)" for branch opening and states that signature registration is also possible, with stamp-type seals excluded.2
The registration does not end at opening. PRESTIA notes that after opening, a seal or signature registration may be required for specific transactions or services, including affiliated credit-card applications and other bank-specified procedures.6 In other words, the bank may ask you to complete the registration shortly after the account exists, rather than at the exact minute it is created.
Rakuten Bank's English online flow shows the same direction from the online side. Its published steps list identification by residence card or special permanent resident certificate via app or post, with no seal step in the procedure.7 That page never states "no seal required" explicitly, so read it as a procedure that lists ID only, not as a standalone no-seal promise.
Why the procedure varies by bank and branch
Whether the signature choice is offered proactively, given only when you ask, or treated as unexpected depends on the bank and the branch counter. MUFG publishes a seal-first pre-visit list, SBI Shinsei and PRESTIA publish an explicit signature path, and Japan Post Bank counter practice is reported to vary by branch.5128
Japan Post Bank's app route is the firmest primary evidence on the Yucho side. Its official foreign-nationals manual documents the Yucho Tetsuzuki App flow for opening an account.9
For the post-office counter, resident guides report that a signature is accepted for opening and most subsequent procedures, while also reporting that some branches still ask for a seal.108 Treat that variation as real: check in advance or bring both.
Some counters present the seal as the default without mentioning the alternative. A short request at the start of the appointment ("Can I register a signature instead of a seal for this account?") surfaces the branch's actual practice before any form is stamped.
Practical Choice: Signature or Seal at Opening and After
For most ongoing operations the two options behave the same. ATMs, online banking, and routine counter work proceed against whichever reference you registered. The choice matters at opening and at a small set of later exceptions.
If you open with a signature
A registered signature covers day-to-day use. ATM withdrawals with a cash card and PIN and routine online banking do not trigger a seal-impression check, so a signature-registered account moves through them normally.12
Practitioner sources describe Sony Bank alongside SBI Shinsei Bank as accepting signature-based verification, which simplifies opening for foreign residents, though the fetchable bank-primary confirmation on this point is the SBI statement.3 If your banking will live mostly online, registering a signature keeps one fewer physical object to guard.
If you open with a bank seal
A seal remains the smoother path at traditional in-person counters that list one as a required item. MUFG's published pre-visit list is the clearest example: arriving with a seal matches what the branch told you to bring.5
Once registered, the seal is simply the other reference type. A seal-registered account uses the impression where a signature-registered account uses the pattern, including for the re-registration procedure below.211
Operations that can still ask for the registered seal
Some traditional banks still expect a seal at initial opening, and some specific operations can ask for the registered reference whatever type it is. Large in-branch transfers, account closure, and seal or signature re-registration sit in this category.5611
The one bank-primary threshold on record is PRESTIA's: fund transfers exceeding 5 million yen or the equivalent trigger seal or signature verification (as of 2026-09; confirm current figures with SMBC Trust Bank PRESTIA).6 That figure belongs to PRESTIA alone, so confirm with your own branch which of its operations check the registered reference rather than carrying the number across banks. PRESTIA routes seal or signature registration and change through a dedicated procedure, which confirms that the reference itself stays administratively live after opening.11
What to bring follows from the split above. The table below covers the whole counter visit in one place.
| Item | Notes |
|---|---|
| Residence card | Current address required; name spelling must match the application form212 |
| Second ID or supporting document | Passport, My Number card, health insurance certificate, or utility receipt depending on the bank12 |
| Personal seal or fixed signature | Seal expected at some traditional counters; signature accepted at SBI Shinsei and PRESTIA512 |
| Japanese phone number | Required for SMS verification in the SBI Shinsei and PRESTIA online flows212 |
| Initial deposit cash | Typically around 1,000 yen at counter openings; confirm locally since branch practice varies10 |
One timing change is worth noting for SBI Shinsei Bank openers. The bank moved non-Japanese-customer opening to mail application only, with in-branch opening discontinued from July 2026 (as of 2026-06-05).13 Allow extra lead time if that is your chosen bank.
Good to know
Keep your bank seal separate from your everyday seal
Using one cheap seal for parcel receipts and for banking concentrates risk in the object you carry most. Anyone holding your registered seal can attempt counter operations against your account, while the everyday seal is exposed to loss precisely because you carry it routinely.4
Keep the bank seal at home in a fixed place, apart from your bankbook, and carry only the everyday seal. The separation costs nothing and removes the most common loss path guides warn about.4
A lost seal or changed signature means a re-registration visit
A lost seal or a signature you can no longer reproduce consistently is not fixable at an ATM or inside online banking. It requires an in-branch procedure with identity documents.11
PRESTIA handles seal or signature registration and change through a dedicated form-based procedure with registered-reference verification.11 Expect to prove identity with your residence card and supporting documents, then register the new reference from scratch.
Confirm the choice before you sign the opening form
The registered method is branch-procedure dependent and awkward to switch later without another branch visit. MUFG lists a seal as a pre-visit requirement, SBI Shinsei and PRESTIA explicitly offer signature registration, and Japan Post Bank counter practice is reported to vary by branch.5128
Ask the counter which option applies to your account before you sign the opening form. The thirty-second question prevents the common outcome of discovering the mismatch only when a later operation checks the other reference.
See also
- Bank Account in Japan for Foreigners: The Six-Month Rule
- Japan Post Bank for Foreigners: Opening a Yucho Account
- Hanko and Signature for Delivery Receipts
- The Post-2020 Anti-Hanko Reform
- Buying a Hanko in Japan