Crypto firm partners with Mastercard for Indonesia expansion

Fasset, a cryptocurrency firm that targets markets in the Middle East, has partnered with payment giant Mastercard to expand its financial offerings to Indonesia.

Photo credit: Fasset

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.

The crypto firm said that it is increasing its product offerings as well as developing training and education platforms to bring the underserved to the formal banking economy.

“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 the public and private sectors to come together to create solutions that can lead to new opportunities and solutions for wider financial inclusion,” said Navin Jain, country manager of Mastercard Indonesia.

Founded in 2019, Fasset, which was built on the Ethereum blockchain, allows 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 fertile ground for global financial players.

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