Readers Lounge

MoneyGram International and 7-Eleven announced today the launch of an all new self-service money transfer kiosk from Cullinan Consulting Group that will make it faster, easier and more convenient for consumers in Australia to send money any time of the day or night. MoneyGram’s service, which will be offered through this first-of-its-kind kiosk, is rolling out in 7-Eleven’s Australian convenience stores in approximately 400 stores across the states of Victoria, New South Wales and Queensland, tripling MoneyGram’s network in Australia by early next year.
“We are excited to work with a global brand such as 7-Eleven to offer our money transfer services. The agreement with 7-Eleven is an important step in MoneyGram’s growth and the kiosk approach not only helps our customers but reinforces MoneyGram’s commitment for services and innovation,” said Nigel Lee, executive vice president of Europe, Middle East, Africa and Asia Pacific for MoneyGram.  “Reliability, speed and convenience are not only the core of our value proposition but are important considerations for money transfer consumers.  Aligning ourselves with 7-Eleven will expand our reach, making the MoneyGram service accessible to customers 24-hours a day.”



“Introducing MoneyGram service in our stores helps us expand our offerings of convenience to our customers,” said Warren Wilmot, chief executive officer of 7-Eleven.  “We believe money transfer customers will be delighted with the innovative 7-Eleven way of conducting money transfers.  It’s a simple, fast and more convenient for consumers. This is the first time MoneyGram has been available 24/7 in the eastern states of Australia.”
7-Eleven and MoneyGram worked with Cullinan Consulting Group to develop this innovative money transfer kiosk system for Australia. The technology uses an electronic touch screen kiosk and cloud computing infrastructure to provide an improved customer experience mitigating lines and long transaction times traditionally associated with money transfer services at banking institutions. 

“The kiosk facilitates a smooth consumer experience for 7-Eleven and Customers,” said Philip Course, chief executive officer of Cullinan Consulting Group.  “The kiosk allows customers to complete their part of the money transfer on the screen which supports English or seven other languages. The pilots conducted in nine Victorian stores have shown that consumers like the process and come back to use the kiosk to conduct money transfers.” 
There is strong need for reliable money transfer services in Australia.  According to the World Bank, people in Australia sent over $3 billion dollars in remittances to developing countries in 2009.  There are over five million immigrants in Australia, which is approximately 25 percent of the total population. The top corridors for outbound remittances are India, China, Philippines, Vietnam, Lebanon, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Pakistan and Thailand.

ABOUT MONEYGRAM INTERNATIONAL
MoneyGram International, a leading global payments services company, enables consumers who are not fully served by traditional financial institutions to meet their financial needs. MoneyGram offers money transfer services worldwide and bill payment services in the United States through a global network of more than 207,000 agent locations — including retailers, international post offices and financial institutions — in more than 190 countries and territories around the world. To learn more about money transfer or bill payment at an agent location or online, please visit www.moneygram.com or connect with us on Facebook.

ABOUT 7-ELEVEN
7-Eleven, Australia’s First choice in convenience is a private company owned by the Withers/Barlow family.  The company has a license to operate and franchise 7-Eleven stores in Australia from the US based 7-Eleven Inc. 

The first Australian store was opened in August 1977.  Today 7-Eleven operates more than 650 stores along the eastern seaboard, including over 250 recently acquired Mobil/Quix sites that are being progressively converted into 7-Eleven stores.  Worldwide 7-Eleven operates more than 38,000 stores in 20 countries, and is opening approximately six stores per day somewhere in the world.

Through its 650+ stores, 7-Eleven will conduct more than 160 million transactions a year, serving an average 5.1 customers per second.  In 2010 total sales were approx $1.4 billion, and are set to exceed $2.8 billion this financial year.