Ever been in a situation that you ran out of cash and there is no ATM (machine) in sight? Happened to me more than once, but thankfully convenience stores like 7-Eleven accept digital payments (to pay for your drink, food, etc.). But what if you really need to get hold of cash (like when manong taxi driver has no change for your fare)? Also, what if there is a need for you to deposit cash into your bank account and the nearest bank branch is kilometers away or it is past banking hours already?
No need to travel far to your bank’s ATM whenever you need to deposit or withdraw cash as 7-Eleven stores in Metro Manila and Cavite start to rollout cash-recycling ATMs beginning this month.
This innovative convenience is made possible by Philippine Seven Corporation (PSC), the exclusive licensor of 7-Eleven in the Philippines, in partnership with Pito AxM Platform, Inc. (PAPI), a Philippine subsidiary of Seven Bank, Ltd. of Japan (Seven Bank).
The ATMs in 7-Eleven, operated by PAPI, are cash-recycling ATMs — customers can withdraw or deposit cash in real-time with any of its partner banks. ATM cardholders may now withdraw cash while the deposit functionality of the ATMs will be activated in the near future. The ATMs also have a unique feature of adapting the customer interface screen to that of the partner bank and thus providing a familiar, easy-to-use interface for users.
As of today, BDO Unibank account holders can withdraw cash and perform balance inquiries free of charge from the ATMs inside 7-Eleven stores. Other bank account holders, through BancNet, can also do withdrawal and balance inquiry transactions subject to ATM fees charged by their banks. PAPI plans to expand the number of partner banks in the near future to allow more convenient and cost-efficient banking services to more customers.
As of the first week of March 2021, customers can already conduct their bank transactions in more than thirty (30) 7-Eleven stores in NCR. PAPI and PSC aim to install ATMs in at least 320 stores by the end of the first half of this year. This number will gradually increase throughout the year, with the end goal of covering the majority of 7-Eleven stores in the near future.
Seven Bank, which operates more than 25,000 ATMs in Japan, established PAPI in April 2019 to promote its ATM business in the country. In February 2020, PAPI struck a business alliance with PSC, intending to install, operate, and maintain ATMs at 7-Eleven stores in the Philippines.
PSC operates the largest convenience store network in the Philippines with 2,978 stores as of 31 December 2020.
The list of 7-Eleven stores with ATMs inside is available here.