The new category, Mobile Money for the Unbanked Service Award, is similar to one that Kenya's Safaricom won in 2009 for its M-pesa service but it has also been shortlisted in the new category.
Zain has been shortlisted for this award due to its newly launched mobile commerce service Zap.
The GSMA announced that the new award aims to recognise innovative mobile banking services around the world that are pioneering the roll out of low-cost financial services for people where traditional financial services are not within their reach or readily available.
According to the company, the award is aligned to the GSMA's Mobile Money for the Unbanked (MMU) initiative, which was created to connect the unconnected and improve the social, economic and environmental well-being of the world's population living on less than US$2 a day by supporting and encouraging the development of sustainable mobile money solutions.
