I found the following article and it does indeed explain and solve the issue. I have been able to use my Amex card. My Citi Visa was a no go.
Apple Pay Suica • PASMO Basic Troubleshooting
Joel Breckinridge Bassett
Apple Pay, Apple Pay Suica, iOS, iPhone, NFC-Felica, Transit 2017-10-24
Notice: Apple Pay recharge in Wallet app with USA issue VISA credit cards stopped working Friday, August 5 JST. The issue is ongoing. Recharge situations are different for the major card brands with USA issue VISA credit cards not working for Apple Pay PASMO, Apple Pay Suica, Google Pay Suica (Android Osaifu Keitai smartphones). European, Australian, Canadian and Hong Kong issue VISA credit cards appear to be similarly affected. The only workaround is to use a Mastercard or AMEX card:
- Non-JP issue VISA credit cards: Suica NG / PASMO NG, some VISA debit cards are working
- Non-JP issue Mastercard: Suica OK / PASMO OK
- Non-JP issue Amex: Suica OK / PASMO OK
Mobile PASMO / Mobile Suica support both say non-JP issue cards are officially supported for Wallet app recharge and there should be no problem. The official line is ‘contact your card issuer’. For reference be aware this is an Apple Pay issue, not a Suica App / PASMO App issue. Suica App / PASMO App only accept JP issue cards for app registration and use.
It’s not clear if the problem is with VISA, Apple Pay, Mobile Suica/PASMO or any part of the payments chain from merchant acquirer to payment processor. I contacted Wells Fargo card account support and ran a PASMO recharge attempt (failed) but support said no transaction activity was showing on their system despite a ‘good to go for all JP transactions’ VISA card status, Wells Fargo digital wallet support said it could be a ‘communication error’. I ran the same VISA recharge tests with Mobile PASMO and Suica live chat support, both said the card issuer side was not processing the transaction. Japanese tech journalist Junya Suzuki is looking into the issue, with luck we might get some clarity. (updated 2022-09-01 JST).