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ISLAMABAD: JazzCash, a subsidiary of VEON Ltd, has been named a finalist at The Money Awards 2026 in two categories: Strategic Alliance & Partnership, for its work digitising government welfare disbursement, and Banking (InsurTech), for bringing health insurance to Pakistan’s informal workforce. Winners will be announced onsite at Money20/20 USA in Las Vegas on October 18, 2026.

Murtaza Ali, CEO of JazzCash, said: “Being named a finalist in these two categories reflects something we believe strongly, that everyone deserves access to financial services and protection, whether that is a woman receiving her government stipend digitally or a daily wage earner buying their first health cover. This is what inclusion at scale looks like when government, insurers and a digital platform work together.”

JazzCash’s Strategic Alliance & Partnership nomination recognises its role as a disbursement partner to the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP), Pakistan’s largest social safety net. Direct wallet transfers through JazzCash alone have delivered PKR 20 billion to 1.48 million BISP beneficiaries, part of a broader effort in which JazzCash’s government and institutional partnerships have disbursed over PKR 100 billion to more than 3 million beneficiaries in 2026 across welfare, disaster relief, and federal and provincial subsidy programmes, including Punjab’s Rahmat Card, Balochistan’s Rural Support Program, and stipends for World Health Organization polio workers and the UN World Food Programme.

The second nomination recognises Sehat+, JazzCash’s health-protection platform. JazzCash partnered with licensed insurers to turn its app, wallet and nationwide agent network into a mass-market insurance channel, with products starting from PKR 3 a day. Sehat+ now serves 2.38 million active unique insurance customers and has issued 27.7 million policies to date, with the platform expanding into InsureNow, a dedicated offering for travel, vehicle, home and mobile-device cover.

JazzCash’s recognition at The Money Awards adds to a track record of international acknowledgement, including being named among CNBC and Statista’s World’s Top Fintech Companies 2026 in the Payments category, the ‘Pioneering Telco to Launch Tap on Phone’ award from Mastercard at Edge 2024 in Dubai, and GSMA’s GLOMO Award for ‘Best Mobile Product, Application, or Service for Women in Emerging Markets’ in 2017.

Copyright Business Recorder, 2026