STRATEGIC PARTNERS
April 8, 2003
NEW YORK CITY -- Verizon customers in select markets now can pay their phone bills through Vcom kiosks in 400 7-Eleven stores.
According to a news release, Verizon users also can use the Vcom to order premium phone services like Caller ID, Home Voice Mail and others, as well as request repair service. Customers will have the option of conducting their transactions in English and Spanish.
Initially, 7-Eleven will accept only cash bill payments at the kiosks. The company is considering adding other payment options such as credit and debit cards and money orders in the coming months.
The service is available only for Verizon's landline customers.
Currently, Vcom kiosks offering Verizon services are located in Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, Florida, Maryland, Nevada, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Texas, Virginia, Washington and Washington, D.C. Verizon wants to have 1,000 Vcoms offering its services by June.
According to the release, this is the first U.S. agreement between a convenience store company and a telecom company to provide online bill payment and service orders.
"7-Eleven is an ideal partner for this service," said Bill Freeman, president of Verizon's Public Communications group. "Like Verizon, 7-Eleven has a national footprint and is customer-focused."
Also, according to a report on Internetretailer.com, 1-800-Flowers.com says that it's testing flower sales through Vcoms. The flower sales are apparently the first e-commerce shopping application to be offered through 7-Eleven's partnership with Cyphermint Inc. Cyphermint is using its proprietary technology which allows users to pay for their online orders with cash.
"This gives us additional exposure, particularly with people on the go," said a 1-800-Flowers spokesman. "And accepting cash for online payments is interesting. If you didn't have a credit card but had 100 bucks and needed to buy a gift, this offers a different twist. It will be interesting to see what this test does and if it changes our customer demographics."
Vcom, which stands for "virtual commerce," is a proprietary machine manufactured by NCRthat 7-Eleven uses to provide financial and other services 24 hours a day. Currently, Vcom users can conduct ATM transactions, cash checks, and purchase money orders and money transfers. (See "7-Eleven's Vcom wins raves at RD.")
7-Eleven plans to place 2,500 stores Vcoms in stores this year and possibly in all 5,800 of its North American stores. (See "Vcom = more units, more functionality.")
