Financial services firm Mastercard has teamed up with cryptocurrency gateway provider Fasset to co-develop digital solutions in an effort to drive adoption in Indonesia. The partnership aims to expand financial inclusion and extend opportunities to the local economy in the Southeast Asian country.
Fasset Technologies, a Middle Eastern crypto exchange announced in April that it had successfully raised $22 million in a Series A funding and is now looking to expand its reach into Indonesia. In a recent survey published by The Jakarta Post, Indonesia is one of the leading countries in terms of crypto adoption, with 41 percent of its citizens owning cryptos. However, as of 2021, 92 million, or 66 percent, of its people remain unbanked, making it a sizable market for financial inclusion according to an article by Yahoo Finance.
By working with Mastercard, Fasset hopes that it can provide financial access and digital tools to help close the divide. The crypto firm said that it is not only increasing its product offerings but is also developing training and educational platforms to bring the underserved to the formal banking economy.
Country manager for Mastercard Indonesia, Navin Jain, 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 the public and private sectors to come together to create solutions that can lead to new opportunities and solutions for wider financial inclusion.
Hendra Suryakusuma, an executive at Fasset, has said that cryptocurrency adoption in countries such as Indonesia will have a significant impact on the broader crypto ecosystem as it will serve as a reference for other countries to pursue progress and the pace of economic growth. Suryakusuma noted,
The implications on the industry are greater legitimization of crypto assets, their use cases, and areas of applications.
He added:
Asset ownership is the strongest way to power healthy livelihoods and economies. Digital asset-driven remittance corridors can unleash a new wave of socioeconomic prosperity through unique product offerings that we’re diligently building.
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