GCASH, 7-ELEVEN TEAM UP IN CASHLESS RACE

By Doris Dumlao-Abadilla | February 24, 2020

Mobile wallet GCash and convenience store chain 7-Eleven have teamed up to introduce
a new digital payment option for physical purchases: scan-to-pay (STP) via a barcode feature in
the GCash app.“This partnership is anchored on the shared goal of enabling more Filipinos to
participate in the digital financial landscape. By allowing 7-Eleven stores to accept GCash STP
via Barcode payments, we are bringing the vision of building a cashless Philippines,” GCash
president Anthony Thomas said.
To use GCash’s STP via barcode, 7-Eleven customers need to generate their unique
barcodes through the GCash app and allow the cashier to scan their barcodes to complete the
transaction.
These steps are seen to streamline the already frictionless QR (quick response) code
system. With STP via barcode, merchants do not need to have a QR key code, which the
customer scans to transact. Merchants also need not to have their own mobile devices to verify
the payments, as STP via barcode is already integrated into the merchant’s point-of-sales.
“After scanning barcodes to redeem promotions and reload accounts for over five years
now, including taking payments from our CLiQQ wallet over the last two, we believe we have
built the most convenient payment experience in the country, and that the time is right to open up
our infrastructure to partners who share our vision,” Philippine Seven Corp. president and chief
executive Jose Victor Paterno said.
“We are pleased to partner first with GCash, whom we have been working with for
several years. Many customers already visit us to cash-in their GCash wallets, now they can use
those same wallets to pay for their purchases as well as participate in our CLiQQ loyalty
program,” he added. INQ

https://business.inquirer.net/291160/gcash-7-eleven-team-up-in-cashless-race
 7-ELEVEN PARTNERS WITH GCASH FOR CASHLESS
TRANSACTIONS
By Roderick Abad | FEBRUARY 29, 2020

To provide customers the ease of going cashless, the barcode technology from GCash is
now available at 7-Eleven branches with the strategic partnership forged by the G-Xchange Inc.
and Philippine Seven Corp.
“This partnership is anchored on the shared goal of enabling more Filipinos to participate
in the digital financial landscape. By allowing 7-Eleven stores to accept GCash Scan-to-Pay
(STP) via Barcode payments, we are bringing the vision of building a cashless Philippines,” said
Anthony Thomas, president and CEO of Globe Fintech Innovations Inc.
To use the STP via Barcode feature of GCash, 7-Eleven customers just have to create
their unique barcodes via the app, and allow the cashier to scan them to finish the transaction.
With STP via Barcode, merchants need not have to have a QR key code, which the patron
scans to transact. They also do not need to have their own mobile devices to verify the payments
since it is already integrated in the merchant’s point-of-sales.
“After scanning barcodes to redeem promotions and reload accounts for over five years
now, including taking payments from our CLiQQ wallet over the last two years, we believe we
have built the most convenient payment experience in the country, and that the time is right to
open up our infrastructure to partners who share our vision,” said 7-Eleven President and CEO
Jose Victor Paterno.
“We are pleased to partner first with GCash, whom we have been working with for
several years. Many customers already visit us to cash-in their GCash wallets; now they can use
those same wallets to pay for their purchases, as well as participate in our CLiQQ loyalty
program,” he added.
This collaboration supports the goal of Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas to create a more
cashless Philippines beginning this year by moving 20 percent of the total transaction to noncash
means, such as digital payments.
According to a research conducted by the Better Than Cash Alliance, a United Nations-
backed organization, the Philippines almost reaches this target. In fact, digital transactions now
account for 20 percent of the overall value of transactions, and 10 percent in terms of volume in
2018, per the study.
“As a strong government partner and the leader in mobile digital payments, we at GCash
remain relentless in developing more products and services that will fit perfectly into the
government’s plans for the country’s financial landscape. Our vision for 2020 is to continue to
push for the development the GCash platform to enable more people to participate in the digital
financial revolution,” Thomas stressed.
 GCash’s STP via Barcode is now available in over 2,800 7-Eleven stores, as well as in
majority of Puregold outlets and Starbucks branches nationwide.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2020/02/29/7-eleven-partners-with-gcash-for-cashless-
transactions/
7-ELEVEN USES MOBILE WALLET TO REDEFINE THE MEANING OF
CONVENIENCE
By PYMNTS | January 4, 2021
The digital-first economy was the story of 2020, but for many successful companies it
wasn’t a complete surprise. It was an acceleration. It was a business evolution that they were
prepared for regardless of the verticals they operate in. One of the companies that fits into that
category is 7-Eleven. The pandemic had an effect on how it served the customer, but it didn’t
require a complete rewrite of the company’s digital roadmap.
As 7-Eleven Senior Vice President and  Head of Digital Raghu Mahadevan told Karen
Webster in a recent conversation, the convenience store chain had been moving toward digitizing
the business for the last several years.  Relatively recent additions to the firm’s digital lineup had
all been in the works, including the rollout of its loyalty program, mobile wallet, delivery
program and self-checkout offerings.
COVID-19, he said, has powerfully accelerated the digital shift and the blurring of old
boundaries that once separated convenience stores from grocery stores and quick-service
restaurants (QSRs). And with 9,300 locations within minutes of 50 percent of the U.S.
population and an increasingly robust stable of digital services, he said, 7-Eleven is ready to take
on a year that Mahadevan believes will ultimately be a wilder ride that 2020 was.
“The thing that 7-Eleven has done right is to continue to redefine convenience,” he said.
“We’re trying to look out for what’s next, where the consumer is heading and how can we make
it a really delightful shopping experience for them.  Ultimately it goes back to the fact that
customers want convenience. And if you make it convenient for the customer, and offer them
value and safety front and center, you will be the company that best serves that customer.”
It is not about building a single digital journey for every customer, he said, but putting the
digital tools in place so that the customer can be the captain of their own commerce ship and
chart their shopping journey to meet the specific contours of their own needs.
The Many Shifts Of 2020
The customer 7-Eleven saw this year was different from the customer the company saw
pre-pandemic. The timing of shopping has shifted as far fewer people are currently commuting
to work. That big spike of customers they saw every morning, Mahadevan notes, has ebbed. But
those customers haven’t stopped coming in. What they’ve done is started spreading their
business out over the course of the day.
They are also, he said, using 7-Eleven somewhat differently. Consumers are tapping them
more often for things like grocery goods and pre-prepared meals because they don’t want to
expose themselves to a large group of people in a big box store or grocery store when all they
need is one or two top-off items like milk and bread. They are increasingly enthused, on a related
note, about using 7NOW, the firm’s delivery offering, to have those quick grocery top-offs
delivered right to their front door.
 They’ve also, to a degree, he said, changed their relationship to payments — particularly
contactless. Some consumers are confident enough in wearing their masks and touching items as
they go. But, he said, that’s not every consumer, as a good many have really gravitated toward
those contactless checkout options.
“We’re hearing from our franchisees that this is really resonating with the customer
because they come in, they put the product on the counter, they pick up their phone and use the
wallet,” Mahadevan said. “It's a seamless experience and, net, I think the ecosystem is working
pretty well. And a big thing which is actually helping us here is the ability for customers to load
cash into the mobile wallet for use.”
That cash inclusion, he said, is critical, as there are roughly tens of millions of Americans
who are unbanked, underbanked or largely cashbound. Designing digital for 7-Eleven meant
designing it with an eye toward a product that works across segments.
“Since the launch of our wallet, we have seen a lot of customers loading cash on. Now
they have access to our entire ecosystem, including our loyalty program,” Mahadevan said.
And that total accessibility, he said, is becoming increasingly relevant as the competitive
landscape that the C-Store exists in is becoming a very different place.
Blurred Boundaries And A Very Busy 2021
There were once defined lines between categories like convenience store, grocery store
and QSR restaurant — at this point, those lines are so blurred as to be almost non-existent.
Players like DoorDash are stepping into the convenience space to throw their hats in as
competitors with their own digital stores.
It is a unique situation that portends a lot of shifting over the next year. And yet, he said,
with 40 million rewards members now signed on, 7-Eleven is feeling confident as those
members are already starting to double up on their visits and purchases. Also, 7-Eleven has the
advantage of proximity to their customers, which means it has the opportunity to be the most
convenient and fastest option when it comes to putting the product in the consumer’s hands.
But the playing field, he said, will be full and incredibly busy — and as far as shifts go,
the industry as a whole is really only just getting started.
“The year 2021 looks even more exciting and fast-paced than 2020 has been,”
Mahadevan said. “Our goal now is to ensure that we thread all the different pieces together
within our digital ecosystem.”
https://www.pymnts.com/digital-payments/2021/7-eleven-uses-mobile-wallet-to-redefine-the-
meaning-of-convenience/
 PHILIPPINE SEVEN INCURS NET LOSS
By Faye Almazan | April 17, 2021

Listed Philippine Seven Corp. (PSC) booked a loss of P419.7 million last year, reflecting
the impact of the implemented quarantine restrictions to its operations.
In a filing to the exchange on Friday, the local licensee of 7-Eleven convenience stores
said the coronavirus pandemic affected its sales, especially those of 7-Eleven stores in the office
and school clusters.
Full-year same stores sales dropped by 18.4 percent, while system-wide sales slipped by
17.7 percent to P46.37 billion last year from P56.33 billion in 2019.
Meanwhile, PSC saw recovery in its financial results during the last quarter of the year.
PSC’s net income stood at P165.6 million in the fourth quarter, reversing the net loss it recorded
in the second and third quarters as sales slowly improved.
The gradual reopening of the economy enabled PSC’s same store sales to grow by 14.3
percent quarter-on-quarter during the period.
PSC said it ended 2020 with a store count of 2,978, of which 2,261 are in Luzon, 432 are
in Visayas and 285 are in Mindanao.
The franchised stores accounted for 55 percent of the total, while the remaining 45
percent are corporate-owned.
The company noted fewer than 7 percent of its store base were temporarily closed by the
end of the year.
PSC announced early last month the roll out of its cash recycling ATMs, which accept
cash deposits via high-speed bill readers and then dispense the same bills for withdrawals.
The firm said the ATMs are “expected to compliment the growing service business of 7-Eleven
and also contribute in increasing the level of financial inclusion in the Philippines.”
Shares of PSC gained 90 centavos, or 0.88 percent on Friday to close at P103 apiece.
https://www.manilatimes.net/2021/04/17/business/business-top/philippine-seven-incurs-net-
loss/864729/
 7-ELEVEN’S PHILIPPINE OPERATOR POSTS Q4 PROFIT BUT ENDS
2020 IN THE RED
By K.C.G. Valmonte | April 16, 2021

Listed convenience store operator Philippine Seven Corp. (PSC) reported its net income
dropped by 78% to P165.6 million in the fourth quarter, and ended the year with a P419.7
million net loss due to the impact of lockdown restrictions.
In a disclosure to the stock exchange, the operator of 7-Eleven stores in the Philippines said its
fourth quarter income was a reversal of the P196.6-million loss incurred in the third quarter after
sales improved.
Philippine Seven swung to a full year net loss of P419.7 million in 2020 from a P1.44
billion profit in 2019, as consumer demand suffered amid the lockdown implemented to curb the
coronavirus pandemic.
For the October to December period, same-store sales jumped 14.3% versus the previous
quarter as the government gradually eased restrictions on movement and allowed more
businesses to operate. However, this was not enough to pull up the full-year same-store sales,
which slumped by 18.4%.
System-wide sales declined by 23.4% in the fourth quarter to P12.03 billion, bringing the
full-year total to P46.36 billion, down 17.7%.
The company said its stores saw a 41% reduction in average customer count per day in all
of its stores.
Philippine Seven reported that it opened 174 new stores and closed 60 stores in 2020,
ending the year with 2,978 7-Eleven convenience stores,
Philippine Seven said its plans of reaching its milestone of over 3,000 stores in early
2020 was disrupted by the pandemic.
“We put the brakes on expansion as early as April, continuing only where we had broken
ground on construction, and in areas where competitors continued to expand, mostly the Greater
Manila area,” Jose Victor P. Paterno, president and chief executive officer of Philippine Seven,
said.
The company said the majority of the 7-Eleven stores are open 24/7, and the rest open
during daytime. Less than 7%of the stores are temporarily closed.
Meanwhile, the company’s payments business accelerated amid the pandemic.
The 7-Eleven operator began installing cash-recycling ATMs in 7-Eleven stores in Metro
Manila in February. A cash-recycling ATM can accept cash deposits and can dispense the same
bills for withdrawals.
 Philippine Seven plans on rolling out around 1,000 cash-recycling ATMs by the end of
the year, hoping to make the system available in all of its stores “in the very near future.”
The company is also planning to expand its digital services after seeing growth in its
online businesses compared to those offline during the period, especially in the payments
business.
“Our financial performance has been abysmal, and when our profit and growth numbers
will return depend on not just the pandemic and how the Philippines navigates its end, but on
how quickly our online and offline pivots take root, if at all,” Mr. Paterno said.
On Friday, shares of Philippine Seven at the local bourse rose by 0.88% or P0.90 to close
at P103 apiece.
https://www.bworldonline.com/7-elevens-philippine-operator-posts-q4-profit-but-ends-2020-in-
the-red/
 PHL SEVEN POSTS P419.7-MILLION LOSS AS LOCKDOWNS CUT
SALES
By V.G. CABUAG | APRIL 20, 2021

Philippine Seven Corp., the local licensee of 7-Eleven convenience stores in the country,
said it incurred a net loss of P419.7 million last year, a reversal of the P1.44 billion it generated
in 2019.
Philippine Seven said the pandemic adversely affected sales as lockdown restrictions
were imposed under different classifications of community quarantine. Sales of 7-Eleven stores
in the office and school clusters were the most affected.
Systemwide sales for the entire year fell 17 percent to P46.46 billion from the previous
year’s P56.33 billion.
The company, however, posted an income of P165.6 million in the fourth quarter, down
by 78 percent from the previous year’s P748.7 million.
Systemwide sales declined 23 percent to P12.03 billion from the previous year’s P15.7 billion.
“We are not out of the woods, by any stretch. Our financial performance has been
abysmal, and when our profit and growth numbers will return depend on not just the pandemic
and how the Philippines navigates it’s end, but on how quickly our online and offline pivots take
root, if at all,” Jose Victor Paterno, the company’s president and CEO, said.
“In times like these, we believe it is better to look not at numbers and forecasts but
instead at one’s position relative to others caught in the same fierce – and unpredictable – storm.
In that regard, we take pride and confidence in a proactive pivot executed at speed helped as it
was by pre-work before the pandemic, relative to that of our more optimistic peers.”
The company ended 2020 with a nationwide store count of 2,978 stores. There are 2,261
7-Eleven stores in Luzon, some 1,010 of which are in Metro Manila, 432 in Visayas and 285 in
Mindanao. The franchised-stores accounted for 55 percent of the total, while the remaining 45
percent are corporate-owned.
Majority of 7-Eleven convenience stores remained open to provide essential products and
services to the communities where it is present. Fewer than 7 percent of its store base were
temporarily closed by the end of the year, the company said.
Philippine Seven, in partnership with Seven Bank of Japan, has started the installation of
its cash-recycling ATMs in more than 150 7-Eleven stores in Metro Manila and nearby
provinces. These ATMs are expected to compliment the growing service business of 7-Eleven
and also contribute in increasing the level of financial inclusion in the Philippines.
https://businessmirror.com.ph/2021/04/20/phl-seven-posts-p419-7-million-loss-as-lockdowns-
cut-sales/