Abra enters Philippine market with 7-Eleven tie-up

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Cryptocurrency and investment company Abra has made its way to the Philippines, striking a partnership that promises to make it easier for the residents to purchase cryptocurrencies. Abra partnered with local payments company ECPay which will enable it to offer crypto at over 6,000 retail outlets, key among them all 7-Eleven stores.

Announcing the partnership, Abra expressed its belief that using new digital tools that open up financial access shouldn’t be complicated. Exchanging fiat to crypto and other digital assets should be simple and fast, the company stated.

That’s why we are really excited to announce our new partnership with ECPay and 7-Eleven stores. It’s one more step towards making cryptocurrency use and investing simple and accessible to everyone.

The users will be able to buy cryptos through 7-Eleven’s CLiQQ kiosks or mobile app. The minimum deposit is set at PHP500 ($9.5) while the maximum one can buy in a day stands at PHP100,000 ($1,915). The service will cost the user a 2% transaction fee. After depositing, the funds reflect on the user’s Abra account in two business days.

Bill Barhydt, the Abra CEO and founder stated, “Now Abra users in the Philippines can quickly and easily add pesos into Abra and use that to invest in cryptocurrencies or popular stocks like Google, Amazon, Facebook, etc., which opens up a world of new possibilities to build wealth.”

This isn’t 7-Eleven’s first crypto venture. The retail giant partnered with crypto exchange and wallet provider Coins.ph in 2016 to offer a fiat-to-crypto platform across its 2,200+ stores in the Philippines. To deposit funds on their Coins.ph accounts, users initiated the deposit on the app, received a 7-digit reference number which they would then present to the cashier at a 7-Eleven store. After paying at the cashier, their Coins.ph account is instantly credited.

Abra has expanded its suite of products this year, announcing in February that it would begin to offer stocks, ETFs and commodities. The service was unique from many other similar platforms as it allows the users to invest using their crypto assets. It also allows the users to invest in fractional shares, with the minimum investment being set at a mere $5.