Japan’s Seven Bank doubles ATM units in 7-Eleven stores

MANILA, Philippines — A subsidiary of Tokyo-based Seven Bank Ltd. has doubled the number of automated teller machines (ATMs) in 7-Eleven branches nationwide to 1,000 as it aims to deploy 200 more before the end of the year.

Seven Bank’s Pito AxM Platform Inc. (PAPI) in partnership with Philippine Seven Corp. (PSC) will close the year with ATMs activated in 1,200 7-Eleven stores in the National Capital Region (NCR) and major markets in Luzon.

“We are very grateful to PSC and our many other partners for their support in reaching this milestone of 1,000 ATMs installed. Yet this is just the beginning. We look forward to delivering the safety and convenience of our ATM service in many more 7-Eleven stores as we grow the install base,” PAPI chairman Tsuneo Nagashima said.

The tie up intends to make available the cash-recycler ATMs in the cities of Cebu, Cagayan de Oro, and Davao by the end of 2022, allowing the alliance of the two companies to increase its presence in the underserved segments of the market.

“The more we install ATMs, the higher the expectations of our customers grow. We are committed to working hard every single day together with our partners including PSC to continuously improve our ATM services for better customer experiences,” PAPI president Masanori Sakaguchi said.

For his part, PSC president and chief executive officer Jose Victor Paterno said the presence of the additional ATMs allows more people to access their cash safely, conveniently, 24/7, amid the ongoing   pandemic.

Customers need not line up at overcrowded bank and mall ATMs, especially with the release of 13th-month pay and year-end bonuses this holiday season.

“Installing ATMs in more stores is one of the key pillars of our Convenience Plus strategy. Convenience Plus has been our approach to meeting more customer needs since the start of this pandemic,” Paterno said.

Aside from offering a wider assortment of merchandise, Paterno pointed out PSC also leveraging in its store network to offer bills payments, e-wallet cash-ins, and other financial services to serve communities better.

Lawrence de Leon, head of finance at PSC, said the ATMs provide an innovative solution to the cash management requirements of 7-Eleven stores nationwide.

“The sales are deposited by our store operators and the ATMs recycle the cash to fund withdrawals of the customers of the different banks.  This also creates a lot of value to the individual bank account owners because of the convenience of having ATMs available 24/7 in a safe and secured location,” de Leon added.

PSC has earmarked P1 billion for its capital expenditures this year to finance the opening of 200 stores this year despite the COVID-19 pandemic. It has a little over 3,000 7-Eleven branches nationwide.