0RO7 Veon Ltd

AMSTERDAM, Oct. 9, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- VEON Ltd. (NASDAQ: VEON) (Euronext Amsterdam: VEON), a leading global provider of connectivity and digital services, announces that Mobilink Microfinance Bank Limited (MMBL), part of mobile operator Jazz, has won the Best MicroFinance Bank (Digital) of the Year Award from the CFA Society in Pakistan. The award was the result of a stringent process that involved a panel of judges from the CFA Society ranking the bank across a number of criteria.  

MMBL is Pakistan's largest digital bank with over 20 million registered and over 8 million monthly active digital wallets. The bank started operations in April 2012 and launched branch-less banking operations under the brand name JazzCash in partnership with Pakistan's largest telecom operator Jazz, one of VEON's operating companies, in November 2012.

The award was announced at the 17th Annual Excellence Awards Ceremony, held last Friday in Karachi. The event was attended by Dr. Reza Baqir, Governor of the State Bank of Pakistan, as the Chief Guest, who presented the award to Mobilink Microfinance Bank. Previously Mobilink Microfinance Bank also won the "Bank of the Unbanked" award consecutively for two years 2018 and 2019 from The Institute of Banking Pakistan (IBP)

VEON's co-CEO Sergi Herrero commented: "This award is testament to the journey that Mobilink has been on over the past eight years, reaching millions of customers across Pakistan and playing a major role in encouraging greater financial inclusion. We are extremely proud to receive this award from the CFA Society and see this not only as recognition of what we've achieved so far, but also as a mark of trust in what's to come."

About VEON

VEON is a NASDAQ and Euronext Amsterdam-listed global provider of connectivity and internet services, headquartered in Amsterdam. Our vision is to empower customer ambitions through technology, acting as a digital concierge to guide their choices and connect them with resources that match their needs. 

About Mobilink 

Mobilink Microfinance Bank Limited (MMBL) is Pakistan's largest digital bank with over 20 million registered and 8 million active digital wallets. Backed by VEON , MMBL started operations in April 2012 and launched branch-less banking operations under the brand name JAZZCASH in partnership with Pakistan's largest telecom operator JAZZ in Nov 2012. Being a hybrid model that combines traditional micro finance with mobile / digital banking technologies, the bank now operates with 74 branches, with more than 1559 employees, a network of over 90000 branch-less banking agents (growing) and a USSD (GSM) based digital channel in the country offering savings, micro enterprise (MSME) loans, small housing loans, remittances, collection (of utility bills and loan installments), mobile wallets, insurance, G2P, B2B & B2P payments and thus playing a leading role in promotion of financial inclusion.

Despite being a young bank, Mobilink bank has emerged as one of the front runners in the sector and achieved financial break-even within four years of commencing operations in 2016, one of the fastest in the industry. Financial performance of the Bank has been remarkable in 2016, 2017 and 2018

Mobilink Bank & JAZZ, under the brand name JAZZCASH, envision to become market leaders in branchless banking, digital banking and micro financial services offering simple, innovative and value added products and services to the people of Pakistan. MMBL game plan aims at taking banking from confines of limited number of brick and mortar structures to cell phones and thus make a significant contribution in banking the unbanked through digital channels. The Bank so far has financed over 500,000 individual micro and small businesses since inception of the Bank in 2012 and is the proud recipient of "Bank of the Unbanked Award" in 2018 and 2019.

For more information visit: http://www.veon.com.

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SOURCE VEON Ltd