{"success":true,"data":{"pressRelease":{"id":"149804","rtpr_id":"nGNXtFZFK-20260922","ticker":"VEON","exchange":"NASDAQ","all_tickers":["VEON"],"title":"JazzCash Named Finalist for Digitising Government Welfare Disbursement and Insurtech at The Money Awards 2026","author":"Globe Newswire","published_at":"2026-09-22T13:07:33.286Z","article_body":"Islamabad – September 22, 2026: JazzCash, Pakistan's leading digital\nfinancial services provider and a subsidiary of VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), has\nbeen named a finalist at The Money Awards 2026 in two categories: Strategic\nAlliance & Partnership, for its work digitising government welfare\ndisbursement, and Banking (InsurTech), for bringing health insurance to\nPakistan's informal workforce. Winners will be announced onsite at Money20/20\nUSA in Las Vegas on October 18, 2026.\n\nMurtaza Ali, CEO of JazzCash, said: \"Being named a finalist in these two\ncategories reflects something we believe strongly, that everyone deserves\naccess to financial services and protection, whether that is a woman receiving\nher government stipend digitally or a daily wage earner buying their first\nhealth cover. This is what inclusion at scale looks like when government,\ninsurers and a digital platform work together.\"\n\nJazzCash's Strategic Alliance & Partnership nomination recognises its role as\na disbursement partner to the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP),\nPakistan's largest social safety net. Direct wallet transfers through JazzCash\nalone have delivered PKR 20 billion to 1.48 million BISP beneficiaries, part\nof a broader effort in which JazzCash's government and institutional\npartnerships have disbursed over PKR 100 billion to more than 3 million\nbeneficiaries in 2026 across welfare, disaster relief, and federal and\nprovincial subsidy programmes, including Punjab's Rahmat Card, Balochistan's\nRural Support Program, and stipends for World Health Organization polio\nworkers and the UN World Food Programme.\n\nThe second nomination recognises Sehat+, JazzCash's health-protection\nplatform. JazzCash partnered with licensed insurers to turn its app, wallet\nand nationwide agent network into a mass-market insurance channel, with\nproducts starting from PKR 3 a day. Sehat+ now serves 2.38 million active\nunique insurance customers and has issued 27.7 million policies to date, with\nthe platform expanding into InsureNow, a dedicated offering for travel,\nvehicle, home and mobile-device cover.\n\nJazzCash's recognition at The Money Awards adds to a track record of\ninternational acknowledgement, including being named among CNBC and Statista's\nWorld's Top Fintech Companies 2026 in the Payments category, the 'Pioneering\nTelco to Launch Tap on Phone' award from Mastercard at Edge 2024 in Dubai, and\nGSMA's GLOMO Award for 'Best Mobile Product, Application, or Service for Women\nin Emerging Markets' in 2017.\n\nAbout VEON\nVEON is a digital operator that provides connectivity and digital services to\nover 150 million connectivity customers and more than 227 million digital\nusers. Operating across five countries that are home to more than 6% of the\nworld's population, VEON is transforming lives through technology-driven\nservices that empower individuals and drive economic growth. VEON is listed on\nNasdaq. For more information, visit: www.veon.com.\n\nAbout JazzCash\nJazzCash is Pakistan's leading digital financial services platform, operating\nunder a Branchless Banking charter and offering mobile wallet services in\ncollaboration with Mobilink Microfinance Bank. It serves over 62 million\ncustomers across Pakistan, providing a broad portfolio of services including\npayments, lending, insurance, welfare disbursements, government-to-person\npayments and government-backed investment products. For more information,\nvisit: www.jazzcash.com.pk.\nContact Information\n\nJazzCash media contact\nKhayyam Siddiqi\nHead of Communications\n+923001115855\nkhayyam.siddiqi@jazzcash.pk\n\n(https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d0540894-c649-4eb2-a688-aedebaeca569)\n\n\n\nGlobeNewswire, Inc. 2026","article_body_html":"","raw_payload":{"data":{"id":"nGNXtFZFK-20260922","title":"JazzCash Named Finalist for Digitising Government Welfare Disbursement and Insurtech at The Money Awards 2026","author":"Globe Newswire","ticker":"VEON","created":"2026-09-22T13:07:33.286Z","tickers":["VEON"],"exchange":"NASDAQ","article_body":"Islamabad – September 22, 2026: JazzCash, Pakistan's leading digital\nfinancial services provider and a subsidiary of VEON Ltd. (Nasdaq: VEON), has\nbeen named a finalist at The Money Awards 2026 in two categories: Strategic\nAlliance & Partnership, for its work digitising government welfare\ndisbursement, and Banking (InsurTech), for bringing health insurance to\nPakistan's informal workforce. Winners will be announced onsite at Money20/20\nUSA in Las Vegas on October 18, 2026.\n\nMurtaza Ali, CEO of JazzCash, said: \"Being named a finalist in these two\ncategories reflects something we believe strongly, that everyone deserves\naccess to financial services and protection, whether that is a woman receiving\nher government stipend digitally or a daily wage earner buying their first\nhealth cover. This is what inclusion at scale looks like when government,\ninsurers and a digital platform work together.\"\n\nJazzCash's Strategic Alliance & Partnership nomination recognises its role as\na disbursement partner to the Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP),\nPakistan's largest social safety net. Direct wallet transfers through JazzCash\nalone have delivered PKR 20 billion to 1.48 million BISP beneficiaries, part\nof a broader effort in which JazzCash's government and institutional\npartnerships have disbursed over PKR 100 billion to more than 3 million\nbeneficiaries in 2026 across welfare, disaster relief, and federal and\nprovincial subsidy programmes, including Punjab's Rahmat Card, Balochistan's\nRural Support Program, and stipends for World Health Organization polio\nworkers and the UN World Food Programme.\n\nThe second nomination recognises Sehat+, JazzCash's health-protection\nplatform. JazzCash partnered with licensed insurers to turn its app, wallet\nand nationwide agent network into a mass-market insurance channel, with\nproducts starting from PKR 3 a day. Sehat+ now serves 2.38 million active\nunique insurance customers and has issued 27.7 million policies to date, with\nthe platform expanding into InsureNow, a dedicated offering for travel,\nvehicle, home and mobile-device cover.\n\nJazzCash's recognition at The Money Awards adds to a track record of\ninternational acknowledgement, including being named among CNBC and Statista's\nWorld's Top Fintech Companies 2026 in the Payments category, the 'Pioneering\nTelco to Launch Tap on Phone' award from Mastercard at Edge 2024 in Dubai, and\nGSMA's GLOMO Award for 'Best Mobile Product, Application, or Service for Women\nin Emerging Markets' in 2017.\n\nAbout VEON\nVEON is a digital operator that provides connectivity and digital services to\nover 150 million connectivity customers and more than 227 million digital\nusers. Operating across five countries that are home to more than 6% of the\nworld's population, VEON is transforming lives through technology-driven\nservices that empower individuals and drive economic growth. VEON is listed on\nNasdaq. For more information, visit: www.veon.com.\n\nAbout JazzCash\nJazzCash is Pakistan's leading digital financial services platform, operating\nunder a Branchless Banking charter and offering mobile wallet services in\ncollaboration with Mobilink Microfinance Bank. It serves over 62 million\ncustomers across Pakistan, providing a broad portfolio of services including\npayments, lending, insurance, welfare disbursements, government-to-person\npayments and government-backed investment products. For more information,\nvisit: www.jazzcash.com.pk.\nContact Information\n\nJazzCash media contact\nKhayyam Siddiqi\nHead of Communications\n+923001115855\nkhayyam.siddiqi@jazzcash.pk\n\n(https://www.globenewswire.com/NewsRoom/AttachmentNg/d0540894-c649-4eb2-a688-aedebaeca569)\n\n\n\nGlobeNewswire, Inc. 2026"},"type":"article","timestamp":"2026-09-22T13:07:33.344284571Z","server_sent_at_ms":1790082453344},"received_at":"2026-09-22T13:07:33.430Z","source_url":"https://www.globenewswire.com/news-release/2026/09/22/3366453/0/en/jazzcash-named-finalist-for-digitising-government-welfare-disbursement-and-insurtech-at-the-money-awards-2026.html"},"analysis":{"id":"138497","press_release_id":"149804","analysis_json":{"industry":{"label":"Telecommunication Services","sector":"Communication Services"},"redFlags":[],"eventType":"other","narrative":"JazzCash, VEON's Pakistani digital financial services subsidiary, was named a finalist in two categories at The Money Awards 2026: digitising government welfare disbursement and InsurTech.\n\nIts BISP wallet transfers alone delivered PKR 20 billion to 1.48 million beneficiaries, and 2026 government-partnership disbursements exceeded PKR 100 billion across more than 3 million beneficiaries.\n\nThe Sehat+ health-insurance platform serves 2.38 million active unique customers with 27.7 million policies issued to date; winners will be announced at Money20/20 USA in Las Vegas on October 18, 2026.","sentiment":"bullish","agentHooks":{"shouldPost":false,"suggestedAngle":"Awards recognition underscores VEON's fintech scaling in Pakistan via JazzCash, but no financial impact."},"keyFigures":{"customDimensions":{"policies_issued":27700000,"bisp_beneficiaries":1480000,"jazzcash_customers":"over 62 million","bisp_disbursement_pkr":"PKR 20 billion","total_beneficiaries_2026":3000000,"sehat_plus_active_customers":2380000,"total_disbursements_2026_pkr":"PKR 100 billion"}},"quotedText":"Being named a finalist in these two categories reflects something we believe strongly, that everyone deserves access to financial services and protection","namedEntities":{"people":[{"name":"Murtaza Ali","role":"CEO of JazzCash"},{"name":"Khayyam Siddiqi","role":"Head of Communications, JazzCash"}],"products":["Sehat+","InsureNow","Rahmat Card"],"companies":[{"name":"VEON Ltd.","ticker":"VEON","relationship":"parent company (filer)"},{"name":"JazzCash","relationship":"subsidiary"},{"name":"Mobilink Microfinance Bank","relationship":"partner"},{"name":"Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP)","relationship":"government partner"},{"name":"Mastercard","relationship":"prior award provider"},{"name":"CNBC","relationship":"mentioned"},{"name":"Statista","relationship":"mentioned"},{"name":"GSMA","relationship":"mentioned"},{"name":"Money20/20","relationship":"award venue"}],"dollarAmounts":[]},"materialImpact":{"score":2,"reasoning":"Awards finalist recognition for subsidiary JazzCash; positive brand signal but no financial or operational impact on VEON."},"tickerRelevance":{"others":[],"primary":"VEON"},"globalImportance":12,"audienceRelevance":15,"eventTypeSecondary":[],"importanceComponents":{"tickerTier":"mid-cap","eventGravity":"award-finalist-recognition","issuerAuthored":true}},"event_type":"other","event_type_secondary":null,"sentiment":"bullish","material_impact_score":2,"narrative":"JazzCash, VEON's Pakistani digital financial services subsidiary, was named a finalist in two categories at The Money Awards 2026: digitising government welfare disbursement and InsurTech.\n\nIts BISP wallet transfers alone delivered PKR 20 billion to 1.48 million beneficiaries, and 2026 government-partnership disbursements exceeded PKR 100 billion across more than 3 million beneficiaries.\n\nThe Sehat+ health-insurance platform serves 2.38 million active unique customers with 27.7 million policies issued to date; winners will be announced at Money20/20 USA in Las Vegas on October 18, 2026.","key_figures":{"customDimensions":{"policies_issued":27700000,"bisp_beneficiaries":1480000,"jazzcash_customers":"over 62 million","bisp_disbursement_pkr":"PKR 20 billion","total_beneficiaries_2026":3000000,"sehat_plus_active_customers":2380000,"total_disbursements_2026_pkr":"PKR 100 billion"}},"named_entities":{"people":[{"name":"Murtaza Ali","role":"CEO of JazzCash"},{"name":"Khayyam Siddiqi","role":"Head of Communications, JazzCash"}],"products":["Sehat+","InsureNow","Rahmat Card"],"companies":[{"name":"VEON Ltd.","ticker":"VEON","relationship":"parent company (filer)"},{"name":"JazzCash","relationship":"subsidiary"},{"name":"Mobilink Microfinance Bank","relationship":"partner"},{"name":"Benazir Income Support Programme (BISP)","relationship":"government partner"},{"name":"Mastercard","relationship":"prior award provider"},{"name":"CNBC","relationship":"mentioned"},{"name":"Statista","relationship":"mentioned"},{"name":"GSMA","relationship":"mentioned"},{"name":"Money20/20","relationship":"award venue"}],"dollarAmounts":[]},"model_name":"glm-5.3-flashx","prompt_hash":"sha256:727b4b9429a443af","schema_hash":"sha256:05005c02d9cffac9","created_at":"2026-09-22T17:05:29.576Z","global_importance":12,"audience_relevance":15,"importance_components":{"tickerTier":"mid-cap","eventGravity":"award-finalist-recognition","issuerAuthored":true}},"durationMs":11644,"modelName":"glm-5.3-flash"}}