Leading financial service firm Mastercard has partnered with an Indonesian crypto platform, Fasset, to speed up crypto adoption in the Asian country through the development of digital solutions.
The partnership will see Fasset use its expertise in digital assets to help Indonesian customers with digital banking services. Meanwhile, Mastercard will aid the firm in driving the local adoption of new tech to improve access to financial services. This development will enhance financial inclusion and boosts economic activities in the country.
In a bid to increase its product offerings as well as develop training and education platforms to bring the underserved to the formal banking economy, Navin Jain, country manager of Mastercard Indonesia, said:
“The world is changing at an unprecedented rate. With more people relying on digital assets and technologies to become resilient, there is a need for key players in public and private sectors to come together to create solutions that can lead to new opportunities and solutions for wider financial inclusion,”
Hendra Suryakusuma, a Fasset executive, noted over 92 million people are unbanked in Indonesia. Therefore, the partnership between Fasset and Mastercard will bridge the gap between digital financial institutions and the unbanked.
“Our partnership seeks to lower the barriers to digital finance and drive greater opportunities to benefit from the use of emerging financial services.”
Apart from this, the executive believes that crypto adoption in countries like Indonesia will significantly impact the broader crypto ecosystem. Furthermore, he highlighted that it would serve as a reference for other countries to pursue progress and change the pace of economic growth.
“The implications on the industry are greater legitimisation of crypto assets, their use cases, and areas of applications,” he further explained.
How Fasset is Building a Bridge for Financial Inclusion in Indonesia Through Mastercard
The crypto protocol was built on the Ethereum blockchain in 2019, allowing users to trade digital assets such as bitcoin and real-world asset tokens. The company is headquartered in the UK and mainly targets emerging markets.
The latest partnership follows Fasset’s US$22 million series A funding round in April. Last month, the firm also obtained three licenses from the Labuan Financial Services Authority of Malaysia to operate in the country.
According to a survey, Indonesia leads the world in crypto adoption, with 41% of people owning crypto. Meanwhile, as of 2021, about 66% of the country’s 275 million population are still unbanked, making it a fertile ground for global financial players.
Read more: Ripple (XRP) Launches its First Blockchain Hub in Canada.
