1.
bank seal — a personal hanko registered with a bank for authorizing transactions
In Japan, a personal seal (印鑑/はんこ}) that has been formally registered with a bank as the seal authorized to approve transactions on a particular account. Withdrawals over the counter, account changes, and other major bank business have traditionally required impressing the registered {銀行印. Distinct from the everyday 認印 used for casual signing and from 実印, the seal registered with city hall for legal purposes.
銀行印が必要です。
You'll need your bank seal.
口座を開く時に銀行印を登録した。
I registered a bank seal when I opened the account.
銀行印は家の大事な書類と一緒に保管している。
I keep my bank seal stored together with the important documents at home.
最近は銀行印なしで手続きできる口座も増えてきたが、昔は窓口での取引に欠かせなかった。
Lately more accounts can be handled without a bank seal, but in the past it was indispensable for any business at a teller window.
銀行印 is one of the three traditional categories of personal seals in Japan, alongside 実印 and 認印. It is registered with a particular bank, kept separate from everyday-use seals, and produced when authorizing transactions like passbook reissues and large withdrawals.
FORMATION:
- 銀行 ("bank") + 印 ("seal, stamp") → 銀行印
THE THREE-SEAL SYSTEM:
- 実印: the registered legal seal — registered at city hall, used for major contracts (real estate, car purchases)
- 銀行印: bank seal — registered with a specific bank for account business
- 認印: everyday seal — for routine acknowledgements (parcels, in-house documents); not officially registered
COMMON COLLOCATIONS:
- 銀行印を登録する: to register a bank seal
- 銀行印を押す: to stamp the bank seal
- 銀行印を変更する: to change one's registered bank seal
- 銀行印紛失: loss of a bank seal
- 銀行印届: notice of bank-seal change
SIMILAR / RELATED TERMS:
- 印鑑: a personal seal (general term)
- {はんこ}: stamp, seal (everyday word, written in kana)
- 実印: registered legal seal
- 認印: everyday seal (not registered)
- 印鑑登録: seal registration (the act of officially registering)
- 朱肉: red ink-paste used to stamp seals
CULTURAL CONTEXT:
- Japan's seal system has long substituted for handwritten signatures in many official contexts. Each individual is expected to keep their 実印, 銀行印, and 認印 separate so that loss of one does not compromise the others.
- Many banks now allow online and signature-based authentication for routine transactions; even so, a 銀行印 is often still required to open the account or make major changes.