News

7-Eleven expands V.com program to Mexico

April 7, 2002

DALLAS -- 7-Eleven, Inc. and 7-Eleven Mexico, S.A. de C.V., headed by Luis Chapa of Monterey, Mexico, plan to install 37 of 7-Eleven's V.com financial services kiosks in Mexican 7-Eleven stores to facilitate money-transfer transactions between the U.S. and Mexico.

Installation of the kiosks, which is expected to take place later this year, is part of the company's "Education is Freedom" campaign. The campaign, with commitments valued at approximately $10 million over the next four years, will support Mexican President Vicente Fox's economic development programs.

According to a 7-Eleven spokesperson, the company is negotiating an agreement with Western Union Financial Services and its partners, including other Western Union agents, to provide the money transfer services in Mexico.

7-Eleven also intends to offer money transfer services at approximately 90 V.com kiosks that will be deployed later this year in Texas and Florida.

After a pilot program in Austin, Texas, 7-Eleven opted to make several changes to the V.com kiosks, including switching from an OS/2 platform to a Windows NT-based one and shrinking the size of the units.

The newest V.coms will provide money orders, money transfers and check cashing, according to a 7-Eleven news release. Eventually 7-Eleven plans to offer such services as bill payment, deposit capability, event ticketing, travel directions and road maps at the terminals.

V.coms were designed to allow customers to purchase goods and services online. The company plans to use its existing distribution infrastructure to deliver the items to 7-Eleven stores, where customers can collect them.

As part of its "Education Is Freedom" campaign, 7-Eleven also intends to provide scholarships, training programs, employment and vocational and franchise opportunities for Mexican-Americans over the next four years.