Hi guys, I plan on withdrawing cash in Japan using my Macquarie Debit Card.
What are the best fee free ATMs to use for this?
TIA
Best Japan ATMs to Withdraw Cash Using Debit Card
Pbm33 on 29/04/2026 - 23:35
Comments
Why recommend wise for cash ? They only allow $350aud a month then charge unreasonable withdrawal fees
You after AI real answer or human answer?
Human answer its Wise
It’s wise for tap and go if you want to lock in rates, not for cash
Yeah I use wise to lock in the exchange rate and pretty much used it to tap wherever. I only withdrew as I've got a few days left and don't want to leave yen on the card as it is not favourable to exchange jpy back to aud.
That’s great to know we switching back to AUD!
Eeep I thought it was 2 free withdrawals (no limit) per month and then a charge, has it changes?
When I went to Japan last year, almost all ATMs including 7 eleven stores charged a small fee of around 200 yen. I used both my Visa and MC debit cards. So this must have changed since then.
From memory AEON Bank at the airport didn't charge me.
In any case, almost all places, except some small old school restaurants accepted credit card (without fees) so you don't need to carry much cash.
Just looked it up. Found charges for seven bank accounts so might be different based on the bank issuing card.
https://www.sevenbank.co.jp/english/personal/netbank/know/fe…
It has never explicitly mentioned a fee for me.
"visa" and "mastercard" doesn't help as banks can have their own international withdrawal fee. Which cards were they? I also went a few years ago just pre-covid and I don't remember any fees, I had citibank debit card at the time (now nab classic but they've introduced the fee back in).
That page wasn't clear for foreign issued cards.
This page ' How to use ATM Cash cards and credit cards issued overseas' https://www.sevenbank.co.jp/intlcard/service2.html
The photo even shows the 220JPY fee lol https://www.sevenbank.co.jp/intlcard/img/service/img_step7_e…
But good to know that other people didn't get charged. I know I paid 220JPY (with both Visa and MC debit cards) and it was between 7am and 7pm.
Things may have changed since I went last year.
Overall it cost me say $6 AUD in ATM fees during the trip. Happy to pay for it as the holidays in Japan are still cheap.
@JimB: Did you withdraw in the evening?
https://www.sevenbank.co.jp/english/personal/netbank/know/fe…I was in Japan around May-Jun last year and didn't get charge for any withdrawal from 7-11 ATM with my Macquarie (Mastercard). Got charged at airport with a Visa card - didn't pay attention to the screen and also was tired due to long flight otherwise I would swap for a Mastercard..
Information about charges for Seven Bank accounts is provided below.
I don't think any ozbers will have seven bank account…
+1 to Seven Bank, I used Macquarie for this a few months ago without any fees and it was easy to use.
This is the answer: Seven Bank at 7-Eleven.
I would highly recommend Youtrip over Wise:
- More competitive exchange rate (about 0.3-0.4 yen difference)
- Up to $1500/month free withdrawal vs $350/month
Just get a normal debit card from a normal bank with zero international transaction and ATM fees. You don't need to mess around with these silly tech companies and their insane restrictions.
OP is literally showing you all the way.
I also have a Macquarie debit card and it's fantastic for its $0 international transaction fee and unlimited withdrawals, but it's a different product from Youtrip/Wise.
What if you want to hedge and lock in today's rates and use them next month? You won't be able to do that with a "normal debit card from a normal bank". It's not a replacement.
Besides, Youtrip's rate is much more competitive than Mastercard/Visa, about 0.6 yen. Speaking from experience on my recent Japan trip, which I just came back a few days ago.
There are trade-offs between different card products, I think it's important to know how to utilise them effectively. It's foolish to call them the other card products "silly" just because you don't understand their use-cases.
@ronnknee: Don't gamble on fx for a holiday. You will often lose.
Mastercard's margin on Yen is around 0.2%. "Youtrip" do not publish their rates and therefore cannot be trusted.
As for Wise, their fee is effectively a 0.3% margin. Worse than a regular mastercard. One of the biggest scams going around.
"Youtrip" do not publish their rates and therefore cannot be trusted.
You can see the rates just just before conversion similar to Wise. I don't understand how this makes it cannot be trusted? It's not like you'd be blindly exchanging money, which you'd actually be doing with Mastercard. See their conversion tool, you cannot see the live rate.
At the time of writing (1 AUD -> JPY):
- Google: 114.37 (for reference)
- YouTrip: 114.367
- Wise: 113.98
You can see that Youtrip is higher than Wise. If you say the difference in fee is 0.1% between Wise and Mastercard, then Mastercard's rate should be 114.09, which is lower the Youtrip.
Anyway, unless you can support your argument with facts and figures, then it's pretty pointless to continue a healthy discussion with you.
@ronnknee: Youtrip functions as a Mastercard in many of the most popular holiday destinations for Australians anyway.
You may as well stick with a bank and have your money protected by the government.
Just like @JimB mentioned, even 7 bank has a small fee charged. I believe the charge is ¥200 if you're withdrawing is over a certain amount.
You won't see any fees in your statement from your local bank, because it will be factored in. That being said, the fee is minimal and the exchange rate is very reasonable. It could even have been live mid-market rates.
Also, while you DO need cash in Japan, the vast majority of places and things will take credit cards, and if not, the train IC cards. The thing is, if you have an android, you'll still need cash to top-up the train IC cards.
Follow up questions re using Seven Bank ATMs,
1) My Macquarie debit card is a Mastercard. Can I confirm your Commbank debit card was also a Mastercard (not Visa)?
2) I read somewhere that it's fee free as long as it's between 7am - 7pm … any experience around this?TIA
I can confirm both my wise and commbank card are indeed mastercard. I also have credit card for every purchase I can pay card with, Bendigo ready which is also mastercard haha
Found the fees for Seven Bank accounts, is that what you're referring to? Might just be a local thing?
https://www.sevenbank.co.jp/english/personal/netbank/know/fe…I checked my wise account, I made a withdraw of ¥10,000 at 7:54pm a few nights ago and I was only charged the ¥10k. There was no other fee as it withdraw from my wise JPY account.
Also:
You may not need as much cash as you think.
We're used to warning Aussies they need more cash than in Australia (for decades) but my last trip almost everything accepts credit card tap or suica (train) card tap now.
Take out 100 bucks or so and see if you run out or not.
Yeah, OP this is a good point and if you have an iPhone, you can grab a Suica card from Apple Wallet. Incredibly useful as you can put custom amounts on the card and is instantaneous (when depositing money).
Suggest you have it active a few days before you leave, i.e. jump on Apple Wallet and get it up and running
EDIT: Oh and you can use Suica for like practically anything (buying food, clothes etc)
Adding onto this, if you don't have iPhone, you will need physical card. You can ONLY top it up with cash.
There is also a tourist version called "welcome suica" that is valid for 28 days and requires no deposit.
This was great - only exception is if you need a kids/concession card where it must be the specially printed with your name Suica card you get from the station.
Yep, I will be loading Suica to my Apple Wallet and topping this up for trains. But sound's like I can also use this for other stuff - I had read about this so good to hear.
When we went to Japan in 2024 we used a credit card for almost everything. We even came across a coffee van at Lake Kawaguchiko that was card only. Only time we used cash really was to top up the IC cards.
Man from my experience in Japan, you just take whichever machine you can find and works.
Literally this. Imagine going on holiday and chasing around a specific ATM to avoid a $3 fee.
1) Many ATMS around the world don't charge $3, it's more like anywhere from $6-15. I say this as somebody who has travelled a lot, you'd be surprised how high the ATM fees can get.
2) OP specifically said he has a Macquarie, so it would make sense for him to use 7/11 as they are readily available and avoids atm fees.
3) My last trip to Japan (July 2025) I went either to a Lawson or Family Mart (can't recall which) and the ATM was about to charge me around $8AUD. Luckily, I found a 7/11 tucked away around the corner (via Google Maps).
I found 711 or any convenience store to work well.
Make sure to use your card exchange rates, not the atm exchange rate.
Otherwise it's pretty easy.
VISA Cards - Use Seven Bank. Available at every major dept. store and most 7-11s
Mastercard Cards - Use AEON Bank ATMs. These are not as common and will be a bit hard to find.
A lot of places are cashless these days so you don't actually need as much cash as you'd think. Having the equivalent of $300 to $400 will easily last you a week of eating out.
Souvenir stores usually take card payments, so your cash is primarily only used for dining, taking public transportation, operating the coin laundry / gachapon and a few other bits and bobs, for everything else there's IC card.
Just use a 7bank for both. I'm pretty sure mastercard provides no fees on a 7bank ATM.
I was there in November and everything worked fine. Exact Mastercard rates from Macquarie and no ATM or other fees.
Just remember to pay in Yen and not use the ATM conversion fees.
If you have Macquarie (which you do OP), go to any 7/11 and you can withdraw for free there.
Keep in mind that if you do go to another branded convenience store and use their ATM, you may be charged a fee, if I recall from the top of my head it was like $8aud when I went into a Lawson - I ended up cancelling the transaction and using google maps to find a 7/11 nearby. There are so many 7/11s around, so you shouldn't have an issue withdrawing either at your leisure and when needed.
711 was free
UBank and ATMs in 7/11. Don't use Macquarie. OzBargain has a hard on for them, but the amount of people, myself included, that have had Macquarie just lock their accounts for no reason and refuse to open them or give a reason as to why is absurd. You don't want to be stuck overseas and they decide to lock your bank account because they're not happy that a friend has transferred you money or something.
I am sorry that you had a negative experience with Macquarie, and obviously that's ordinary of them to do such a thing without providing any reason. I do recall reading this previously on OzBargain, but nonetheless, there's a good reason why Macquarie is popular, especially for use in Japan.
Secondly, everybody should always bring back-ups overseas (I usually bring 2-3 additional cards).
Everyone has pretty much covered the basics.
The only things I'll add is
1. Never accept the withdrawal (or a Charge) in AUD for your "convenience". The exchange rate is horrible compared to what you will pay in Yen using your Macquarie debit card.
2. Never use any of the foreign exchange machines as they also have horrible exchange rates.
3. Take at least one backup card for those just in case moments
Best Japan ATMs to Withdraw Cash
What exactly do you mean by 'best'?
Fastest? Quietest? Prettiest?
Best Japan ATMs to Withdraw Cash Using Debit Card
and the winner is AI overview
The best ATMs in Japan for using foreign debit cards are 7-Eleven (Seven Bank) and Japan Post Bank ATMs, offering 24/7 access (mostly), English menus, and wide international compatibility (Visa, Mastercard, Plus, Maestro, Cirrus). They are located in convenience stores and post offices everywhere, providing the best exchange rates
And my apologies to Ozb members who are living in the 70s, don't like Google or AI or anything in between
I'm currently in Japan but I don't have Macquarie debit card, I have wise and commbank world debit card.
I withdraw from "seven bank" which are very common around Tokyo and in 7 eleven stores. I have used both wise and my commbank debit card and have not incurred any fees. Both will get the same rates from mastercard based on the exchange rate on that day. Having said that I haven't tried withdrawing the same amount from both cards on the same day.
Japan is also very very card friendly, most restaurants I went to allowed you to use credit card via tap or insert. Given how good the current exchange rate is, I recommend wise debit card and lock in maybe $500 aud to jpy just so you've got that piece of mind already in yen.