JazzCash plans to expand its regional footprint
KARACHI: JazzCash plans to expand its regional footprint, particularly in the Gulf, to facilitate cross-border payments to the Pakistani customers.
As part of this initiative, JazzCash has partnered with du Pay-a UAE-based financial services provider, to enable seamless cross-border transactions through Western Union. This collaboration allows Pakistani nationals to send money directly to JazzCash mobile wallets in Pakistan, making remittances faster and more convenient.
Murtaza Ali, President of JazzCash, addressing at Money 20/202 Asia, disclosed that JazzCash is set to expand its focus on Insurtech to help bridge Pakistan's protection gap, introduce asset fractionalization, allowing the masses to own a fraction of high-value assets, democratize stock investments and trading, and significantly grow its digital merchant base, with a strong emphasis on supporting women-led businesses and freelancers.
He said that financial technology is not just reshaping economies, but it's transforming lives and empowering underserved communities across emerging markets. Around 3,000 senior decision-makers from banks, payment gateways, card networks, big tech, venture capital firms, lending institutions, blockchain, and bitcoin companies attended Money20/20, making it a key platform for advancing fintech discussions.
Murtaza highlighted that a large segment of the adult population still hasn't opened their first bank account, and there is a huge scope for the financial inclusion. He urged stakeholders to design accessible solutions that address real needs on the ground.
He emphasized that, with over 20 million monthly active users, JazzCash is driving a shift from a cash-based economy to a digital one, aligning with the State Bank of Pakistan's vision and the government's broader goal of digitizing the economy. Currently, JazzCash has the largest QR payments network in Pakistan, and is the country's largest digital loan issuer, having disbursed 108 million digital loans for productive purposes.
He mentioned that in 2024, JazzCash processed transaction values equivalent to approximately 9 percent of Pakistan's GDP and accounts for nearly 50 percent of all IDs on RAAST, the country's national payment platform underscoring its critical role in Pakistan's financial ecosystem.
Murtaza also commended the collaborative efforts of the State Bank of Pakistan, the Pakistan Telecommunication Autho-rity, and the Securities & Exchange Commission of Pakistan, recognizing their role in balancing innovation with consumer protection, thereby advancing digital and financial inclusion across the nation.
In his concluding remarks, Murtaza discussed the expanding digital capabilities and services offered by VEON, the parent company of Jazz and Mobilink Microfinance Bank, aimed at accelerating digital and financial inclusion across its markets.
Specifically, within its fintech vertical, VEON's digital operators JazzCash of Pakistan, Simply of Kazakhstan, and Beepul of Uzbekistan, collectively processed a gross transaction value equivalent to $ 36.5 billion over the past twelve months as of December 2024, contributing to the digitization of economies in Pakistan, Kazakhstan, and Uzbekistan, he mentioned.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2025
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
Express Tribune
36 minutes ago
- Express Tribune
Omar lambasts govt's 'disastrous' policies
The leader of opposition in the National Assembly, Omar Ayub Khan, has criticized the PML-N led federal government's economic policies, describing them as a recipe for the complete destruction of the national economy. In his speech during the National Assembly budget session on Friday, Omar, who belongs to the PTI, labeled the current budget as a document of fake statistics and questioned where the stated GDP figures had come from. He pointed out that all crop yields have decreased, the agriculture sector is on the decline. Omar compared the current situation with that of April 2022, when the PTI government was ousted through a vote of no confidence. He stated that unemployment has now reached 22% and 6.2 million educated youth are roaming jobless. He blamed both "PDM-1 and PDM-2 governments" for crushing the poor by imposing indirect taxes amounting to Rs42,500 billion. ' An alliance of opposition parties — the Pakistan Democratic Movement (PDM) — came into power after the ouster of the PTI government in April 2022. The present ruling coalition is also sometimes described as a continuation of the first PDM government, which was also led by Shehbaz Sharif. The opposition leader accused the government of begging for IMF packages and claimed that $48 billion have been sent abroad through foreign agents. "The budget deficit of Rs6.5 trillion will be financed by loans from commercial banks, which will reduce lending capacity for the public, ultimately turning Pakistan into an economic graveyard," he added. He stated that large-scale industries have contracted by 1.5%, whereas during the PTI's tenure, industries expanded to the point where workers were not even available in Faisalabad, Omar claimed. The opposition leader alleged that Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi holds more power than even the prime minister and the deputy prime minister. "Naqvi, while serving as the Punjab caretaker chief minister, imported low-quality wheat from Ukraine, while minting Rs450 billion in the bargain. Naqvi carries out the actions, the government bears the blame," he added. When some government ministers — Dr Tariq Fazal Chaudhry and Attaullah Tarar — laughed at his remarks, Omar said, "This laughter proved that Mohsin Naqvi indeed controls them". PPP's Raja Pervaiz Ashraf stated that during the recent Pakistan-India conflict, the Pakistan Army and the nation responded decisively, showing India that the Pakistani nation is not divided but united in defense. He praised the military leadership, including Field Marshal Asim Munir, for their commendable actions. He remarked that while the opposition criticizes the budget, the government highlights its positive aspects. Every government must present a good budget to win public support, but given the circumstances, difficult decisions had to be made. "The present government made tough choices and sacrificed political popularity to save the country from bankruptcy," he added. Addressing the assembly, PML-N's Aqeel Malik said that instead of giving constructive proposals on the budget, the opposition only demands the release of arrested individuals.
Express Tribune
an hour ago
- Express Tribune
PSX tumbles on heightened Mideast tensions
Listen to article The Pakistan Stock Exchange (PSX) witnessed a significant downturn on Friday as the KSE-100 index plunged nearly 2,000 points over rising geopolitical tensions following Israeli military strikes on Iran. The broad-based sell-off reflected heightened investor anxiety as fears of regional escalation dampened sentiment across global and local markets. Heavyweight sectors such as fertiliser, cement, banking and technology suffered steep losses with blue chips bearing the brunt. Market participants shifted to a risk-off mode, offloading positions in response to the global uncertainty and Pakistani rupee weakness. Arif Habib Corp MD Ahsan Mehanti observed that stocks fell across the board after Israeli strikes on Iran and as investors eyed an escalation in the conflict. Additionally, a slump in global equities on geopolitical risks and the weakening rupee also contributed to panic selling, he said. At the end of trading, the benchmark KSE-100 index recorded a substantial fall of 1,949.56 points, or 1.57%, and settled at 122,143.57. Topline Securities wrote in its review that stocks largely traded in the negative zone, which was in line with international and regional trends, following Israel's attack on Iran. Top negative contribution to the index came from fertiliser, cement, bank and oil stocks. In terms of traded value, DG Khan Cement ($6.4 million), Maple Leaf Cement ($5.92 million), Lucky Cement ($4 million), OGDC ($3.72 million), Pakistan State Oil ($3.65 million) and Mari Petroleum ($3.15 million) dominated trading activity, Topline said. KTrade Securities stated that the KSE-100 index ended the session in the negative territory, pressured by escalating geopolitical tensions in the region, particularly between Iran and Israel. Despite that, market activity remained robust, with trading volumes exceeding 966 million shares. Sideboard stocks were the most actively traded, which included Pervez Ahmed Consultancy (116 million shares), WorldCall Telecom (100 million) and First Capital Securities (85 million). Notable declines were recorded in Engro Corporation, Lucky Cement, Fauji Fertiliser, Bank AL Habib and Systems Limited. In light of prevailing regional uncertainties, KTrade advised investors to maintain a cautious approach in the near term. Arif Habib Limited (AHL) Deputy Head of Trading Ali Najib mentioned that the market witnessed a sharp correction as it reacted to heightened geopolitical tensions following Israeli strikes on military and nuclear facilities inside Iran. The benchmark index opened in the red and quickly extended losses, hitting the intra-day low of 121,605 points, down 2,489 points, amid broad-based selling pressure. Heavyweight blue-chip stocks in fertiliser, cement, banking and technology sectors bore the brunt of the sell-off, Najib added. According to JS Global analyst Mubashir Anis Naviwala, the market opened on a negative note in line with regional equities and it experienced a highly volatile session. Sentiment received a blow from escalating tensions between Iran and Israel, fuelling investor caution. The index touched the low of 121,605 and closed at 122,144, down 1,950 points. Volatility persisted throughout the day amid uncertain global cues. He advised investors to adopt a cautious stance and avoid aggressive positions in the near term with focus on risk management and tracking geopolitical developments. Overall trading volumes decreased to 968.3 million shares compared with Thursday's tally of 1.02 billion. The value of shares traded was Rs29.6 billion. Shares of 469 companies were traded. Of these, 130 stocks closed higher, 304 fell and 35 remained unchanged. Pervez Ahmed Consultancy was the volume leader with trading in 116.7 million shares, rising Rs1 to close at Rs2.93. It was followed by WorldCall Telecom with 100.9 million shares, gaining Rs0.08 to close at Rs1.45 and First Capital Securities with 85.3 million shares, higher by Rs0.94 to close at Rs3.06. Foreign investors bought shares worth Rs179 million, the National Clearing Company reported.
Express Tribune
an hour ago
- Express Tribune
SBP set to hold rateover inflation risks
Listen to article The central bank is expected to hold its policy rate on Monday, a Reuters' poll showed, as many analysts shifted their previous view of a cut in the wake of Israel's military strike on Iran, citing inflation risks from rising global commodity prices. Israel said on Friday it targeted nuclear facilities, ballistic missile factories and military commanders in a "pre-emptive strike" to prevent Tehran from building an atomic weapon. Several brokerages had initially expected a cut but revised their forecasts after the Israeli strikes sparked fears of a broader conflict. The escalating hostilities triggered a sharp spike in oil prices – a worry for Pakistan given the broader impact on imported inflation from a potentially prolonged conflict and tightening of crude supplies. Eleven of 14 respondents in a snap poll expected the State Bank of Pakistan (SBP) to leave the benchmark rate unchanged at 11%. Two forecast a 100-basis-point cut and one predicted a 50bps cut. "There remains an upside risk of a rise in global commodity prices in light of geopolitical tensions, which could mark a return to inflationary pressures," said Ahmad Mobeen, Senior Economist at S&P Global Market Intelligence. "The resultant higher import bill could also threaten external sector performance and bring pressure to the exchange rate." Inflation in Pakistan has been declining for several months after it soared to around 40% in May 2023. Last month, however, it picked up to 3.5%, above the finance ministry's projection of up to 2%, partly due to the fading of the year-go base effects. The SBP expects average inflation between 5.5% and 7.5% for the fiscal year ending June. The central bank paused its easing cycle in March after cumulative cuts of 1,000 basis points from a record high of 22% and resumed it with a 100-basis-point reduction in May. The policy meeting follows the release of a tight annual budget, which saw the government raise defence spending by 20% but overall expenditure was reduced by 7%, with GDP growth forecast at 4.2%.
