7-Eleven Philippines enables “buy now pay later” with Silicon Valley fintech Plentina as it launches its online grocery

Plentina, a Silicon Valley-headquartered Filipino-led startup that provides alternative credit scoring and digital financial services to brands and retailers, forms a strategic partnership with Philippine Seven Corporation, the operator of 7-Eleven in the Philippines.  It is the country’s largest retail store chain and the leader in the convenience store category with over 3,000 stores nationwide. 

With Plentina, customers can avail CLiQQ Wallet Credits from the Plentina app on a loan and pay back 14 days later. CLiQQ Wallet Credits can be spent in 7-Eleven stores and at CLiQQgrocery.com, 7-Eleven Philippines’ newly launched online grocery. With an all-digital application process and its proprietary credit assessment technology using artificial intelligence, loan approval happens within a matter of minutes. Payments can be made easily through the Plentina app using GCash, GrabPay, or over the counter via 7-Eleven.

From being classmates 13 years ago at Stanford, Kevin Gabayan and Earl Valencia teamed up in 2019 to form the fintech startup, Plentina. Both Gabayan and Valencia left leadership roles in Silicon Valley at Google and Charles Schwab with the mission to make a difference in the financial lives of Filipinos and other emerging markets.

“Our team at Plentina is honored to be collaborating with the innovative team at 7-Eleven Philippines. Together, we share a vision of more accessible financial services and convenient everyday payments, in the Philippines and beyond. We look forward to our continued partnership.” said founder, Kevin Gabayan.

In 2020, Plentina became the first Filipino-led startup to participate in the Techstars Western Union accelerator, one of the top startup accelerators globally. The startup has attracted global venture capitalists such as 500 Startups Vietnam, Emergent Ventures and a number of prominent angel investors. 

“We are excited to have 7-Eleven as a strategic partner of Plentina. Our mission is to use data and technology to democratize access to credit. We believe a digital data-first financial service infrastructure can unlock opportunities for millions of Filipinos who want a better experience,” said Valencia.

“Plentina is thrilled to enable access to affordable credit while helping Filipino retailers improve customer experiences through AI. We invite more retailers to join us as we build a more financially inclusive Philippines together.” Gabayan adds.

“7-Eleven has been known to be a leader in introducing relevant digital solutions to our network of stores. We always look for partners throughout the world to better serve our customers in the Philippines and we are glad to work with Plentina to provide a convenient buy now-pay later option.  This partnership couldn’t be more timely as we plan to scale up our next day delivery grocery shopping business,” said Victor Paterno, CEO of Philippine Seven Corporation.

The Plentina app is one of the highest-rated credit mobile applications available in the Philippines with an average rating of more than 4.6 stars. The app has been downloaded tens of thousands of times since its launch in October 2020. 

Plentina is now available to the public without a pre-approved code by downloading directly from the Google Play Store. 7-Eleven also lists their official lending partners at cliqq.net/loans. CLIQQ Wallet credits can be used in-store or in the recently launched CLiQQgrocery.com, the online grocery store of 7-Eleven Philippines.