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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