7-Eleven ATM Suica Cash Recharge service started today. I gave it a test run but it’s not as fast or convenient as Smart Charge kiosks at JR stations. The video highlights the user experience and the weak points:
- 7-Eleven ATM Apple Pay Suica Recharge is not Express Card savvy. You have to use Touch ID/Face ID and put Suica in the manual ready state like an Apple Pay credit card.
- The reader stand on the right of the touchscreen is designed for plastic cards with the NFC hit area at the bottom of the stand. This means you have to put iPhone on the stand upside down for Apple Pay Suica to work. It’s very awkward.
- The process is not that fast.
The service is OK but nothing more and is really is designed for plastic transit cards, not smartphones. Suica cash recharge at the JR station or the convenience store cash register is a faster deal, and the convenience of Apple Pay Suica Recharge always beats cash recharge. The main benefit is that 7-Eleven ATMs are plentiful, open 24 hours and offer Suica cash recharge during the Mobile Suica late night maintenance offline hours 1am~4am.
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