Malaysia's Labuan Financial Services Authority granted Fasset a provisional license on Tuesday to operate the first stablecoin-powered Islamic digital bank. The approval enables the Dubai-headquartered fintech to offer Shariah-compliant banking services within a regulated sandbox framework.
CEO Mohammad Raafi Hossain stated the license combines the credibility of a global banking institution with the innovation of a fintech platform that is fully halal. Fasset currently serves 500,000 users across 125 countries through its all-in-one financial super app offering digital savings, yield products, and investment access.
The regulatory approval allows Fasset to provide deposit-taking services, cross-border payments, and zero-interest banking products. Islamic finance operates under Shariah law, which prohibits charging interest, avoids excessive risk and uncertainty, and bans investment in industries including alcohol, gambling, and pornography.
Fasset aims to replicate NuBank's success in Latin America for underserved markets across Asia and Africa. The platform offers investment access to U.S. stocks, gold, and crypto alongside traditional banking services. The company targets financial inclusion gaps within the $5 trillion global Islamic finance industry.
The firm plans to issue a crypto debit card for everyday spending and launch “Own,” an Ethereum layer 2 built on Arbitrum for settling real-world assets. Fasset's stablecoin infrastructure enables users to avoid interest-bearing products while preserving asset value against inflation or currency fluctuations, as Shariah forbids all forms of interest known as riba.
operations within the Labuan International Business and Financial Centre, a regulated offshore financial center in Malaysia. The provisional license differs from a full digital banking license issued by Bank Negara Malaysia and operates under sandbox parameters for Islamic fintech development.The Labuan FSA license authorizesNo FollowOpen in a new tab
Fasset has secured licenses in the United Arab Emirates, Indonesia, Turkey, and the European Union. The Dubai and Jakarta-based company reports processing more than $6 billion in annualized transaction volume across its global user base. Previous regulatory approval came in March 2024 when Fasset obtained a Virtual Asset Service Provider license in Dubai.
Stablecoin adoption in payments has accelerated recently, with Visa launching a pilot program last month allowing banks to pre-fund cross-border payments using Circle's $USDC and $EURC. Swift announced a collaboration with Consensys and over 30 financial institutions to build a blockchain-based settlement platform enabling 24/7 real-time cross-border payments.