Every country has organizations that help consumers.
History's lessons for today's decisions ／ Where to Go for Help
Where to get help when in trouble — Overseas (the approach is the same)
Is the role of the contact point the same even in different countries?
A 3-Minute Guide: Getting Help and Protecting Your Savings Abroad
1See it
Swipe to see more
There are also places to report fraud.
They do the same job, just with different names.
For example, the starting point is 188 in Japan and the FTC in the U.S.
Every country also has a system to protect depositors if a bank fails.
In Japan, it's up to 10,000,000 yen in principal plus interest.
Deposit Insurance Corporation
The main difference is the maximum amount covered.
UK: 120,000 pounds (from Dec. 2025)
2In numbers
10,000,000yen
Japan's deposit protection limit (principal). Interest is added to this.
250,000dollars
U.S. deposit protection limit
100,000euros
EU deposit protection limit
3What would you do?
Your family in the U.S. is worried about news of a bank failure. What do you tell them about how their savings are protected?
Pick one
It's the same as Japan, up to 10,000,000 yen.
Each country has a system to protect savings, but the limits are different. The limit in the U.S. is 250,000 dollars.
Look up the U.S. system and its limit together.
That's right. The U.S. system is the FDIC, and the limit is 250,000 dollars. The role is the same, but the name and the limit are different.
4Read more
When to use When family or acquaintances overseas are in trouble. When you receive a solicitation from an overseas business.
Every country has agencies that handle consumer consultations and agencies that receive fraud reports. Their roles are the same; only the names are different. In the U.S., the FTC (Federal Trade Commission) publishes signs of scams and accepts reports via ReportFraud.
The same applies to deposit protection. Systems to protect depositors when a bank fails exist in Japan (Deposit Insurance Corporation of Japan), the U.S. (FDIC), the EU (national Deposit Guarantee Schemes), and the UK (FSCS), with different coverage limits.
Procedure
- Know one consumer consultation agencyJapan 188 / U.S. FTC
- Know one deposit protection agencyJapan: Deposit Insurance Corporation / U.S.: FDIC / EU: Deposit Guarantee Schemes / UK: FSCS
- Know the coverage limitJapan: 10 million yen principal + interest / U.S.: 250,000 dollars / EU: 100,000 euros / UK: 120,000 pounds (from December 2025)
Bibliography
- How To Avoid a ScamFederal Trade Commission (FTC), Consumer Advice
- Basic Knowledge of the Deposit Insurance SystemDeposit Insurance Corporation of Japan
- Deposit InsuranceFederal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC)
- Deposit guarantee schemesEuropean Commission (Finance)
- See how FSCS protects banks, building societies and credit unionsFinancial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS)
Related Lectures and Notes
P1 P4 P6 Where to get help when in trouble (United States, United Kingdom, European Union)
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