Seven Bank is considering investing in a FamilyMart-affiliated credit-card company and is in discussions to do so, according to the Japanese lender’s president.
The Tokyo-based bank is looking for areas beyond its main business of operating automated teller machines in convenience stores for its tie-up with FamilyMart, which is a unit of Itochu. The trading house is also the second-largest shareholder in Seven Bank, after Seven & I Holdings.
The bank is discussing investing in Pocket Card, which issues FamilyMart’s credit cards, and also Famima Digital One, the convenience store operator’s digital payments affiliate, Seven Bank President Masaaki Matsuhashi said in an interview.
“If we can standardize and integrate the payment functions, it will be more cost-effective and we will be able to create something that is more convenient,” he said.
Matsuhashi said that his bank, Pocket Card, Famima Digital One, Itochu and FamilyMart need further discussions on their intentions, and “we can’t do this unless it’s win-win for all of us.”
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