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Pay for a Japan SIM Without a Credit Card
The short answer
- 9 of the 27 carriers we checked confirm at least one non-credit-card payment method on their own site, and 8 more accept one with conditions.
- 10 state that a credit card is required (a few with one narrow exception, listed below the table).
- Debit cards and credit cards are tracked separately here, because carriers treat them separately.
There are three alternatives to a credit card in Japan: direct debit from a bank account (口座振替), a debit card, and paying a bill at a convenience store (コンビニ払い). Which ones a carrier takes is published on its own site, and that is all we record — "Not stated" means we could not find the carrier addressing it, not that it refuses.
Carriers confirming a non-credit-card payment method, 3GB a month
Rakuten Mobile3GB–Unlimited
Setup fee ¥0 (included)Payment without a Japanese credit card
- Cheapest among the carriers that confirm a non-card method; approval is the carrier's decision.
- Real monthly cost: the plan price, plus the one-off fees spread over 12 months, plus 20 minutes of calls a month (3 minutes per call); no discount that needs a condition.
What this page covers
You cannot get a Japanese credit card yet. You still need a phone line — so which carriers take a bank account, a debit card, or cash?
The three alternatives
Payment methods, by carrier
This covers all 27 carriers we check for payment methods — not only the ones confirmed to accept foreign residents. Whether a carrier accepts foreign residents at all is a separate question; see the resident SIM ranking.
| Carrier | Credit card | Debit card | Bank transfer | Convenience store | Without a credit card? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Daredemo MobileDetails → | Official pages disagree | No | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| Daredemo SumahoDetails → | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| SunsysconDetails → | No | Not stated | Yes | Yes | Yes |
| TONE MobileDetails → | Yes | See the note below | After sign-up only | Not stated | Yes, with conditions |
| SokumobaDetails → | Yes | Not stated | No | Yes | Yes |
| Nihon Tsushin SIM | Yes | See the note below | No | No | Yes, with conditions |
| IIJmioDetails → | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| mineoDetails → | Yes | Not stated | See the note below | No | No |
Show the other 19 carriers
| Carrier | Credit card | Debit card | Bank transfer | Convenience store | Without a credit card? |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AEON MobileDetails → | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| HIS MobileDetails → | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| NURO MobileDetails → | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| BB.excite Mobile | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| BIGLOBE MobileDetails → | Yes | Not stated | See the note below | Not stated | Yes, with conditions |
| y.u mobileDetails → | Yes | No | No | No | No |
| LIBMODetails → | Yes | No | See the note below | No | No |
| QT MobileDetails → | Yes | No | See the note below | No | No |
| J:COM MobileDetails → | Yes | No | See the note below | No | No |
| LinksMateDetails → | Yes | No | No | No | Yes, with conditions |
| DTI SIMDetails → | Yes | Not stated | See the note below | Not stated | Yes, with conditions |
| Rocket Mobile | Yes | Not stated | No | Not stated | Yes, with conditions |
| ahamoDetails → | Yes | See the note below | Yes | No | Yes |
| povo2.0Details → | Yes | No | See the note below | See the note below | Yes, with conditions |
| LINEMODetails → | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not stated | Yes |
| UQ mobileDetails → | Yes | Yes | Yes | See the note below | Yes |
| Y!mobileDetails → | Yes | Yes | Yes | No | Yes |
| Rakuten MobileDetails → | Yes | Yes | Yes | Not stated | Yes |
| Goen Mobile | Yes | Not stated | See the note below | No | Yes, with conditions |
| Carrier | The condition or exception behind the table |
|---|---|
| TONE Mobile | Yes, but only after sign-up. At sign-up you need a credit card in your own name; the official FAQ says you can switch to bank transfer once the contract has started. The official disclosure statement adds that debit and prepaid cards may be refused, depending on the card company's authorization result. |
| Nihon Tsushin SIM | Debit card: Some debit cards only. The official FAQ says credit cards or some debit cards can be used (J-Debit cannot). Ask your card issuer whether yours works for monthly payments. |
| mineo | Credit card only. The one exception is eo hikari customers who pay for eo hikari by bank transfer, who can keep that payment method (set up by phone). |
| NURO Mobile | No. The monthly fee can be paid only by a credit card in your own name. The official FAQ says bank debit, convenience-store payment, debit cards and prepaid cards cannot be used for it. A debit card can be used only to pay for a phone at delivery. |
| BIGLOBE Mobile | Partly. A voice SIM needs a credit card in your own name, but a data-only SIM can be paid by bank transfer through KDDI billing (for people who are not BIGLOBE members). Existing BIGLOBE members may be able to use the payment method already registered on their account; see the official FAQ. |
Show the other 10 carriers
| Carrier | The condition or exception behind the table |
|---|---|
| LIBMO | Credit card only. Debit cards and bank debit cannot be registered. Customers of TOKAI's @T COM or TNC internet services can use the same payment method through "ISP bundled billing" (some payment methods are excluded). |
| QT Mobile | Credit card only if you sign up for QT Mobile on its own. Customers who also use BBIQ Hikari internet or BBIQ Hikari TV can pay by bank transfer, provided the BBIQ login ID and the QT Mobile login ID are the same. |
| J:COM Mobile | Credit card only, as a rule; debit cards cannot be used. People who already pay for other J:COM services by bank transfer can keep paying that way. |
| LinksMate | Yes, with conditions. The official payment page lists two ways to pay the monthly fee: a credit card, or LinksMate Points (LP). LP can be bought at convenience stores or by bank payment (also by credit card, Apple Pay or Google Pay), so you can run the line without a credit card. The page does not list direct bank debit or convenience-store payment for the monthly fee itself. |
| DTI SIM | Only after sign-up, and not confirmed. At sign-up you need a credit card in your own name; an official FAQ says the payment method can be changed after you apply, but we found no statement that DTI SIM can be paid by bank transfer. |
| Rocket Mobile | Yes, through Paidy (pay later): the official FAQ says individuals can pay by credit card or by Paidy. The FAQ does not say how a Paidy bill is settled. |
| ahamo | Debit card: Some debit cards only. The official FAQ says some debit cards can be used, and asks you to check with your debit-card issuer whether yours is accepted. A debit-card payment may be withdrawn from your account before the billing details are shown. |
| povo2.0 | Yes, through Paidy (pay later): you can sign up without a credit card and settle the Paidy bill by direct debit (no fee), bank transfer or at a convenience store (fee up to ¥390). You need an email address and a mobile number that can receive SMS. |
| UQ mobile | Convenience store: Not as the monthly payment method: the official FAQ lists only bank transfer and credit card for the monthly bill. Overdue bills and bills that could not be debited can be paid separately (see the official billing page). |
| Goen Mobile | Yes, with a condition. The official FAQ lists two ways to pay: bank debit or a credit card. With bank debit, the first payment (before the SIM is shipped) is a bank transfer to the account the company gives you. |
Linked pages exist only for carriers in our resident ranking; the rest are listed here without one.
Frequently asked questions
Which carriers work without any Japanese credit card?
Among the 27 carriers we checked, Daredemo Mobile, Daredemo Sumaho, Sunsyscon, Sokumoba, ahamo, LINEMO, UQ mobile, Y!mobile, Rakuten Mobile officially confirm at least one non-credit-card payment method (bank transfer, debit, or convenience-store payment). With conditions: TONE Mobile, Nihon Tsushin SIM, BIGLOBE Mobile, LinksMate, DTI SIM, Rocket Mobile, povo2.0, Goen Mobile (see the notes below the table).
What is "konbini" (convenience-store) payment?
It's a common Japanese payment method where you pay a bill in cash or by card at a convenience store register (7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Lawson, and similar chains), using a payment slip or barcode the carrier issues. It doesn't require a bank account or credit card, but it's usually for ongoing monthly bills rather than the very first sign-up step.
Does a debit card count as a credit card here?
No — we track them separately because carriers do. A debit card draws directly from your bank balance and often doesn't require the credit check or Japanese credit history a credit card application can involve, but not every carrier that takes credit cards also takes debit cards, so check the specific row for your carrier.
If a carrier isn't marked "Yes" here, does that mean it's impossible?
Not necessarily. "Not stated" means we could not find the carrier's official site addressing non-credit-card payment either way — it may simply not advertise it. We only mark a carrier "Yes" when its own official page confirms a specific alternative, and "No" only when the carrier explicitly limits payment to credit cards (a few of them with one narrow exception, listed below the table).
Next step
Cheapest carrier confirming a non-credit-card payment method: Rakuten Mobile at ¥1,078/month at 3GB. Confirm the payment options on its own site before applying.
See the cost, not just the conditions
The two ranking pages apply the same conditions and then sort by what you actually pay.
- Monthly SIM for residents
Only carriers that confirm they accept residence-card holders, ranked by real monthly cost at 3GB a month.
- eSIM for tourists
Short-term data eSIM ranked by the total price for your trip length and daily data use.
- 日本語版（SIM実額ナビ）
The Japanese site: every brand and plan, ranked by the effective monthly cost including setup fees.
In short
Decide how you can pay first, then compare cost among the carriers that accept it. The resident SIM ranking shows the payment column next to the real monthly cost, so you can do both in one pass.
References
Every figure on this page comes from the provider's own official page, checked on November 5, 2026. Prices include tax.
- Daredemo Mobile official page / checked November 5, 2026
- Daredemo Sumaho official page / checked November 5, 2026
- Sunsyscon official page / checked November 5, 2026
- TONE Mobile official page / checked November 5, 2026
- IIJmio official page / checked October 6, 2026
- mineo official page / checked October 6, 2026
- AEON Mobile official page / checked October 6, 2026
- HIS Mobile official page / checked September 11, 2026
- NURO Mobile official page / checked October 6, 2026
- BIGLOBE Mobile official page / checked October 6, 2026
How we calculate and who we are: about us. How we handle advertising: editorial policy. Affiliate status never changes the ranking order, the emphasis, or the wording.
