Two factor authentification on overseas accounts

[nagasakirams]

I wonder if there is a way to set up two factor authentication for accounts in UK and use while in Japan. Can I just get a UK sim and plug in my phone when I need to do the authentification?
Any advice appreciated. Thanks.

[adamu]

Two factor auth via phone number is particularly bad and can be worked around by people who are determined enough to transfer your number to a new SIM. The only reason banks use it is because it's universal enough to work without asking customers to do anything more technical like install a two-factor auth app or get a security key.

If you have an option to use a method other than phone number, e.g. via mobile banking app etc., you should.

Rant over. To answer your question: it probably depends on the bank. One bank I use works with my Japanese number no problem.

[eyeswideshut]

It depends on the bank. I have three overseas accounts and each are different. One will text to a foreign #, one has an app based push notification (not region locked) and one had neither but when I called they said I could register my work e-mail address. All fine and good until i quit my job I suppose. The SIM idea would probably work but sounds like a lot of effort and cost to use that bank.

[beanhead]

If you have an option to use a method other than phone number, e.g. via mobile banking app etc., you should.

Agreed. The other options seems to be much easier now than when 2FA first appeared.
Mobile banking app, or these authenticator apps, seem to do the job pretty well, without needing phone numbers / SMS.

[TJKansai]

I wonder if there is a way to set up two factor authentication for accounts in UK and use while in Japan. Can I just get a UK sim and plug in my phone when I need to do the authentification?
Any advice appreciated. Thanks.

Not sure about the UK, but I got a T-Mobile SIM in the US and now have a pay-as-you-go prepaid plan for $3/month. I can get my 2-factor SMS via wifi to my unlocked iPhone, but I need to swap out the SIM which is a bit of a PITA.

Pay As You Go is perfect for those of us who want a wireless service on an as needed basis. You get 30 minutes or messages to use at your discretion for as little as $3 per month. Get more for just $0.10 per minute or message.

[tokyojoe]

This reply is a little late but in case you are still interested.

As some of the other people have replied, the two factor authentication is generally a bit
of a pain, and if there is an alternative available you can investigate that. But there is
sometimes not an alternative available. I don't have a mobile phone (yes , really) which
complicates things further. My wife has a mobile phone but it doesn't seem to be able
to accept SMS on the (very cheap) Japanese service she has.

However all is not lost, since for the UK it is easy to get a very cheap SIM that is a genuine
pay as you go. The company we use is giffgaff https://www.giffgaff.com/ they will post your SIM
out to japan free of charge . They have various monthly plans (which probably won't be of interest)
and also one- month packages (which may be of interest if you are are going back to the UK for a visit)
but for two factor authentification you can skip these and just (once you have your sim) 'add credit' to your
account. You will then have a UK mobile phone number and the credit will then stay there - you just need
to use your account (e.g. by sending a single text) once every 6 months. We put 5 pounds on the SIM
about 5 years ago and we haven't used all the credit yet! This is what I use to do the two-factor authentication
on my UK bank account.

I think there are probably other companies as well - buying mobile phones is generally pretty easy in the UK.

[shyam]

I know that the OP probably doesn't need it anymore, but this might be useful for others.
You can rent a UK number on AnonymSMS for up to 30 days. I've used this service a few times for SMS verification codes. It's secure and a lot more convenient than using a real SIM.