Cardtronics Becomes Major Player in CU Funds Transfers With Deal for 7-Eleven’s ATMs

HOUSTON – Cardtronics Inc. leapfrogged some of its customers yesterday to become the major player in electronic funds transfers for credit unions with an agreement to acquire and operate the 5,500 ATMs in 7-Eleven convenience stores. That includes 5,300 that are co-branded for the credit union-owned CO-OP Network and 2,000 self-service financial kiosks that are about to be connected to Financial Service Centers Cooperative, the shared branching network for credit union. “This is a big deal for us,” Chris Brewster, the company’s chief financial officer, told The Credit Union Journal last night. The $135 million deal will expand the Cardtronics network to more than 30,000 ATMs, with locations in every major U.S. metropolitan area, the U.K. and Mexico. The deal gives Cardtronics the 10-year exclusive rights to operate all ATMs and advanced financial self-service kiosks in 7-Eleven’s U.S. stores and comes as FSSC is poised to unveil 1,900 self-service kiosks in 7-Elevens later this month. About 2,000 of the 5,500 ATMs under the Cardtronics contract are self-service kiosks, or Vcom machines, which will be added to the FSSC network. Cardtronics already provides ATM services to hundreds of credit unions through the Credit Union 24 network. The deal also calls for Cardtronics, which is also the parent of the surcharge-free Allpoint Network, to assume ownership or to operate all ATM and Vcom equipment currently owned or leased by 7-Eleven, as well as maintenance, cash replenishment, processing, customer service and operational functions for the machines. The transaction is expected to close at the end of June, around the time the FSSC deal is scheduled for unveiling.