Tokyo-based Seven Bank has announced it will open its first manned branch in Kyushu. The bank counter will be installed inside the Hakata Ekimae Asahi Building 7-11 convenience store and will be staffed with contract employees who can speak foreign languages as part of an effort to expand its foreign remittance business. Since 2011, Seven Bank, working with an American partner company, has offered a service that lets account holders send money to over 200 countries and regions from its nationwide network of ATMs in 7-11 stores. The staff at the manned branches can provide support in Chinese, Korean, English and Vietnamese. The Fukuoka branch, which opens on Jan. 30, will be the 7th manned branch in Japan, following five in the metro Tokyo area and one in Nagoya. Fukuoka was chosen because of the high rate of increase in foreign residents in Kyushu. The bank aims to approach foreign workers and students in a broad area from Kyushu and Yamaguchi all the way to Hiroshima to promote its services. Source: Nishinippon Shimbun 1/29
