62m customers brought into STZ framework: JazzCash given Zone Enterprise licence

ISLAMABAD: The Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA) granted a Zone Enterprise license to JazzCash, bringing Pakistan’s leading fintech platform and its 62 million registered customers into the Special Technology Zone framework. JazzCash will run its technology operations from Tech 7 Special Technology Zone, a state-of-the-art Science and Technology Park based in Sector B17, Islamabad. STZA is the autonomous federal regulator and enabler for Special Technology Zones (STZs), operating under the Cabinet Division, with a mandate to enable, license, and regulate the STZs and technology enterprises housed within them to promote and expand Pakistan’s knowledge and technology economy domestically and globally. JazzCash operates the nation’s largest digital payment acceptance infrastructure, with its Raast QR network now stretching across 1. 7 million merchant locations nationwide, advancing the national cashless economy agenda. Complementing this scale, the platform’s expanding digital lending portfolio is equally noteworthy, disbursing an average of 224, 000 loans per day in Q2 2026, extending formal credit to microentrepreneurs, including women-led enterprises. Together, these milestones underscore JazzCash’s dual role as both a digital financial services powerhouse and a catalyst for financial inclusion across Pakistan. JazzCash’s arrival in the STZA ecosystem adds to a base of fintech companies that has been growing steadily. Since its inception, STZA has notified 32 zones across Pakistan, of which 20 are operational, hosting more than 300+ technology enterprises and over 30, 000 technology professionals. It is pertinent to highlight that over USD 190 million of goods and services were exported by the STZA-licensed companies in FY 25-26. Hamza Saeed Orakzai, Chief Market Development Officer at STZA, said: “JazzCash is one of the country’s leading fintech and digital financial services companies, and its move into the STZA ecosystem strengthens a fintech portfolio we’ve been building deliberately. We expect more firms of this calibre, Pakistani and international, to follow. ’’ AamirAftab, Chief Product Officer at JazzCash, said: “Tech 7 gives us a base within a zone designed for exactly the kind of innovation our platform depends on, and the STZA framework supports the long-term investment we’re putting into serving our growing customer base. It gives our developers the environment to keep building innovative solutions, from the infrastructure behind our Raast-enabled interoperable QR network to our digital lending products, which already reach millions of merchants and borrowers every day. ” Financial technology now sits at the heart of information technology, artificial intelligence, cloud computing, agri-tech, business process outsourcing and high-tech production, enabling commerce, payroll, tax collection and small-business credit. The Special Technology Zones Authority (STZA) and JazzCash are strategically aligned to bolster Pakistan’s technology ecosystem by integrating regulatory enablement with digital financial infrastructure. STZA establishes the fiscal terms and licensing frameworks essential for long-term tech investment, while JazzCash brings the digital financial services infrastructure and reach that underpin Pakistan’s shift toward a cashless economy. Copyright Business Recorder, 2026

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