executive impact

Seven Bank Ltd

10 Comments
By Chris Betros and Rena Takeuchi

In March, Seven Bank started an overseas money transfer service in which customers can use the Internet/mobile banking network to send money anytime 24 hours a day. On July 19, the service was expanded to Seven Bank ATMs at about 15,000 locations nationwide.

In the agreement with Western Union, recipients are able to collect money at more than 400,000 locations in about 200 countries. Seven Bank says users can send 10,000 yen for only 990 yen and 50,000 yen for only 1,500 yen, with no payment due on the receiving end. Receivers do not need to open a bank account.

Seven Bank, which is a subsidiary of Seven & i Holdings, has been operating for over 10 years. The new service was launched with much fanfare, including a lot of interest from Japanese media, even though the service is primarily aimed at foreign residents in Japan.

Heading up the bank’s operations is Kensuke Futagoishi. Born in Kumamoto, Futagoishi graduated from Tokyo University in 1977, with a law degree. He joined Sanwa Bank that year and has remained in the banking business all his life. He became president of Seven Bank in June 2010.

Japan Today’s Chris Betros and Rena Takeuchi visit Futagoishi at the bank’s headquarters in Otemachi to hear more.

The banking business must be completely different today compared to when you first started 34 years ago.

Well, of course, we didn’t even dream of such services as Internet/mobile banking. Back then, there were a handful of major city banks. In those days, the business model was geared toward corporate rather than individual clients.

How did the March 11 disaster affect your business?

200-300 ATMs were damaged by the quake and tsunami, and for a while, about 2,000 ATMS stopped working. A few still remain out of service. In the no-go radiation zone in Fukushima Prefecture, there are 15 ATMs. In the aftermath of the disaster, some of our ATMs were broken into and cash was stolen.

Another effect is that many foreign residents left Japan. Those are our potential customers, but we are hopeful that foreigners will start to return to Japan.

Since you started the money transfer service, how has the response been?

New registrations so far exceed 1,000, and the feedback from those sending money has been positive. They say it is simple and very handy. The main users are Filipinos, followed by Chinese and Japanese.

What is your target?

Our initial goal is to eventually reach 1 million transactions a year. The total money transfer market in Japan is about 10 million transactions a year. However, in the short-term future, we want to focus on making registration procedures smooth.

How many languages can users see on the ATMs?

Right now, only two – English and Japanese. We haven’t decided on the timing yet, but in future, we’d like to add Chinese, Tagalog, Portuguese and Spanish. The explanation for registration procedures on our home page is in 10 languages.

Why did you choose Western Union as your partner?

They are the biggest player in the market with a 150-year history. They have a presence in more than 200 countries.

How are you marketing the money transfer service?

We are doing a lot of Internet advertising and posters in Seven Eleven stores. We also set up booths at ethnic events and festivals to encourage people to sign up. There are many Chinese students in Japan and they represent an important potential market for us.

I noticed that the launch of the service attracted a lot of Japanese media attention.

There are two reasons for that, I think. One is that traditionally, Japanese banks have been seen as conservative and not too innovative. The second reason is that many Japanese are using this service to send money to their relatives living abroad.

Are there any plans to enable your customers in Japan to receive money from abroad?

Right now, that isn’t possible, but it is something we’ll consider for the future. Our goal is to create a borderless banking service.

What safeguards are in place to prevent money laundering and other criminal activities?

Both Western Union and Seven Bank have complied with international regulations. We have some additional rules. For example, the maximum limit for transactions is 500,000 yen a month, and 3 million yen a year. When you register, you have to state the reason you are sending money and the name of the receiver, which can be checked by authorities at the other end, if need be.

As president, what do you concentrate your efforts on?

I prefer to delegate. My management style is to build a consensus and make sure we are all aligned and then let the team do their job.

What is Seven Bank doing to conserve power?

Our ATMs in convenience stores – if they haven’t been used in 10 minutes – automatically go into turn-off mode. It used to be 30 minutes. Also, the brightness of the ATM display has been dimmed. Overall, we have achieved a 15% reduction in power per ATM.

What do you think is the main difference between a Japanese bank president and a foreign bank president?

My impression is that foreign bank presidents are more aggressive and focus more on stockholders from whom they get a lot of pressure. On the other hand, Japanese bankers tend to concentrate first on customers, followed by employees and then stockholders.

What is a typical day for you?

I come in about 7:30 a.m. The day consists of internal meetings, meeting clients, answering emails and strategic planning. I try and leave between 6 and 7 p.m.

How do you like to relax?

I walk my dog. I try not to take my work home with me on weekends.

Are you optimistic about the future of Japan?

I’m always optimistic. History shows that the Japanese people have overcome many difficulties because of their resilience and strong spirit. As long as we have that, we’ll be alright.

© Japan Today

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.


10 Comments
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Are there any plans to enable your customers in Japan to receive money from abroad?

Right now, that isn’t possible,

It's shorter than my one liner comment, elaborate please.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Interesting. So far I've been using Payoneer to send money back home to family which is pretty cheap, safe and easy for everyone. This seven bank looks pretty good since the received won't be paying any fees.

I could not find the exchange rates though anywhere online. Tried on Western union's currency converter but the rates won't show up :(

0 ( +0 / -0 )

They still don't have that service to send money to my country :( ..

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Western Union is an ancient icon. Last year I used Xoom dot com to transfer money to a bank in Germany for less than five US dollars. I admire out-of-the-box thinking like the successes of NetTalk, MagicJack, Xoom and others. I hope Seven can do the same.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

The fee for the transfer isn't normally where the banks make their real money. The real money is in the "spread" (difference between what they will buy and sell currency at). Been using Ozforex for a while and get closer to bank rates (service operated by Macquarie bank out of Australia).

0 ( +0 / -0 )

"Japanese bankers tend to concentrate first on customers."

I assume this refers to corporate customers and not individuals, who get virtually no interest on their deposits and have to spend ages queuing see a teller to perform what would be a quick transaction anywhere else in the world.

Japanese bankers tend to concentrate first on bankers.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

It all sounds too good to be true. Japanese Banking involves a convoluted process of giving the customer the least amount of satisfaction while fleecing them of as many fees as possible. To cap it off, ATMs which are designed so people can access their cash while the banks are closed, shutdown out of business hours!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

@mrsynik

ATMs which are designed so people can access their cash while the banks are closed, shutdown out of business hours!

True, but remember how it was back home in the UK: the ATMs were open 24 hours but the shops all closed by half-past five, so you couldn't buy anything!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

but the shops all closed by half-past five, so you couldn't buy anything!

But the pubs & post drinking establishments such as curry houses or kebab shops weren't - where it's cash only!

0 ( +0 / -0 )

@mrsynik

True. And let's face it, if you're a Brit and it's after five, the pub's the place to be!

1 ( +1 / -0 )

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