Mastercard Partners With Fasset to Drive Financial Inclusion in Indonesia
Banking the unbanked is a common theme among cryptocurrency proponents
Source: Shutterstock
key takeaways
- Indonesia remains a leader in cryptocurrency ownership
- More than half of crypto investors in Indonesia are women
Global payments platform Mastercard has partnered with Middle Eastern global digital asset gateway, Fasset, to expand its financial services to Indonesia.
There are currently over 92 million unbanked people in Indonesia, and the collaboration between Mastercard and Fasset aims to use the digital asset market in furtherance of financial inclusion goals.
“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,” Hendra Suryakusuma, Country Director of Fasset Indonesia, said in a statement.
Learn more: Can Crypto Address the Biggest Obstacle Facing the Unbanked?
Fasset, the platform that allows users to buy, sell, send and store digital assets and tokens, raised a $22 million Series A led by Liberty City Ventures and Fatima Gobi Ventures in April this year and has since had ambitions to expand its offerings to Indonesia and Pakistan.
Indonesia currently leads in cryptocurrency ownership worldwide in terms of percentage adoption. According to Gemini’s 2022 Global State of Crypto report, 41% of surveyed participants in Indonesia own digital assets. The island nation also leads in the adoption of cryptocurrency among women, who make up more than half of crypto investors in the country.
“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,” Navin Jain, Country Manager of Mastercard Indonesia said.
Mastercard has been actively expanding its services in the crypto space. Alongside Web3 influencers, it recently announced the launch of The Belle Block, a community group focused on empowering women and non-binary individuals to use Web3 technology and cryptocurrency and also partnered with various NFT marketplaces to allow cardholders to directly purchase NFTs with fiat currencies.
Get the news in your inbox. Explore Blockworks newsletters:
- The Breakdown: Decoding crypto and the markets. Daily.
- Empire: Crypto news and analysis to start your day.
- Forward Guidance: The intersection of crypto, macro and policy.
- 0xResearch: Alpha directly in your inbox.
- Lightspeed: All things Solana.
- The Drop: Apps, games, memes and more.
- Supply Shock: Bitcoin, bitcoin, bitcoin.
