Tuesday, March 9, 2021

7-Eleven PH rolls out cash-recycling ATMs in select stores

The Philippine Seven Corporation (PSC), an exclusive licensor of 7-Eleven in the Philippines, has started rolling out cash-recycling ATMs that accept cash deposits in select 7-Eleven stores in Metro Manila.

According to PSC, it began installing cash-recycling ATMs in alliance with Pito AxM Platform Inc (PAPI), a Philippine subsidiary of Seven Bank Ltd of Japan.

Cash-recycling ATMs accept cash deposits via high-speed bill readers and dispense the same bills for withdrawals. According to PSC, this partnership shall establish the largest cash-recycling ATM network in the Philippines. Over 30 ATMs are now operational, and a total of 320 units will be active by June.

“Cash-recycling ATMs are standard in Japan because it reduces the need to deliver cash and provides a reliable and convenient experience for receiving deposits. There are few of them in the Philippines because they are considerably more expensive than withdrawal-only ATMs. Seven Bank’s model of allowing several banks to share the ATMs so that more customers could use them without fees, and then installing them in a safe and convenient location like our stores made tremendous sense for us,” said Jose Victor Paterno, CEO of Philippine Seven Corporation.

Moreover, PAPI has partnered with BDO Unibank, Inc. (BDO). With this, BDO Unibank account holders can withdraw or inquire about their balances free of charge at ATMs in 7-Eleven, and will soon be able to use the deposit function that is currently limited to 7-Eleven store cash only. Meanwhile, other bank account holders through BancNet can also perform withdrawal and balance inquiry transactions subject to the ATM fees charged by their issuing banks.

PAPI plans to expand its partner banks soon to allow more convenient and cost-efficient banking services to more customers, with the customer interface screen adapting to that of the partner bank, hence providing a familiar interface.

“We have seen the increased demand for ATM access in the Philippines, especially under the current environment. By installing ATMs in 7-Eleven stores, we hope to make access to cash more convenient for numerous Filipinos and play our part in increasing financial inclusion,” said Tsuneo Nagashima, President and Director of PAPI.

Seven Bank operates more than 25,000 ATMs in Japan, while PSC now has 2,978 stores in the Philippines as of December 31, 2020.