Seven Bank-Made ATMs Available at Japan’s FamilyMart

Tokyo, June 1 (Jiji Press)–Japanese convenience store chain FamilyMart Co. made newly installed automated teller machines developed by Seven Bank available for use by store visitors Monday. FamilyMart, which installed the first of its Seven Bank-made ATMs in Tokyo’s Minato Ward, aims to replace about 16,000 existing ATMs nationwide by 2030. Once the installation is completed at all FamilyMart outlets, the total number of Seven Bank-made ATMs, including those at Seven-Eleven Japan Co.’s convenience store chain, is expected to surpass that of Japan Post Bank’s ATMs, which form the country’s largest ATM network. “This is an important first step toward a new phase of growth,” FamilyMart President Tatsuo Odani said at a ceremony. Seven Bank is an affiliate of retail group Seven & i Holdings Co., which owns Seven-Eleven Japan. The existing ATMs at FamilyMart stores were provided by E-net Co. and Japan Post Bank. These machines are limited, however, to basic services such as cash withdrawals and deposits. The new ATMs offer services similar to those of regular Seven Bank ATMs, allowing customers to receive benefits from some local governments and open accounts and change addresses at banks affiliated with Seven Bank. In September last year, FamilyMart and Seven Bank reached a basic agreement on the installation of ATMs. The bank is partially owned by trading house Itochu Corp., FamilyMart’s parent. END [Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]