PHILIPPINE SEVEN CORP. (PSC), operator of convenience store brand 7-Eleven, is partnering with the local unit of a Japan-based banking institution to mount “innovative” automated teller machines (ATMs) in its stores.

The listed firm said in a statement Monday it had forged a partnership with PITO AxM Platfrom, Inc. (PAPI), a subsidiary of its sister firm Seven Bank Ltd., to put modern ATMs in 7-Eleven stores starting June.

These ATMs, PSC said, can facilitate real-time cash deposits and withdrawals. They will be equipped with a “cash recycling” function, which allows them to dispense banknotes deposited by 7-Eleven and customers of PAPI partner banks.

“Under the agreement with PAPI, cash-recycling machines will be deployed in 7-Eleven stores in the Philippines to provide customers with convenient access to ATM services. The deployment of the ATMs is… expected to be in all stores in the next few years,” it said.

The entry of “recycling ATMs” through 7-Eleven will be the first time Seven Bank is bringing the technology out of Japan and into the Philippines.

“Both companies will initially offer basic ATM services upon the start of the project, but they are also aiming to provide new services through PAPI’s ATM platform in the future as well,” it said.

PSC has 2,864 7-Eleven stores in its network as of end-December, some of which already have the legacy, withdrawal-only ATMs. The company’s partnership with PAPI is expected to help sister firm Seven Bank expand its presence in the Philippines.

Jose Victor P. Paterno, president and chief executive officer of PSC, said the partnership with PAPI helps support financial inclusion in the country.

“There has never been a better time to formalize this collaboration than today, as a growing and increasingly digitized economy provide demand for digitizing cash, as the rapid growth in our Cliqq payments business has shown,” he said.

The payments we take in initially provide a steady supply of cash for ATM customers to withdraw, and we look forward to building other services atop the combined infrastructure of nearly 3,000 stores, recycling ATMs and 6 million downloads of our Cliqq app,” Mr. Paterno added.

Shares in PSC at the stock exchange closed flat on Monday at P146 each. — Denise A. Valdez

RELATED ARTICLESMORE FROM AUTHOR