7-Eleven
“Can 7-Eleven leverage its unmatched physical retail footprint — over 80,000 stores globally — to become a primary financial services distribution channel for underbanked and cash-dependent consumers?”
Founded in 1927 as a small ice company, 7-Eleven pioneered the convenience store format and grew into the world's largest convenience chain under Japanese parent Seven & I Holdings. Over the past decade, 7-Eleven has increasingly embedded financial services — prepaid wallets, fleet cards, payment processing, and in-store financial hubs — directly into its retail operations, monetizing its massive store footprint as a payments and financial services distribution channel, particularly notable in markets like the Philippines where stores process payment volume five times retail sales.