KUALA LUMPUR – The Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council Zakat Collection Centre (PPZ-MAIWP) has become the first zakat institution in the world to provide a zakat (tithe) payment system using Near Field Communication (NFC) technology.
PPZ-MAIWP chief executive officer Abdul Hakim Amir Osman said for that purpose, a pilot test was being conducted in three locations in the federal capital, namely the As-Syakirin Mosque, KLCC, Jalan Masjid India and PPZ-MAIWP headquarters, through a joint venture with Fass Payment Solutions Sdn Bhd (Fasspay).
He said that through the method, zakat payers can fulfil their obligations by simply tapping their credit or debit card on an amil’s (zakat collector) mobile phone that is equipped with the FassTap application developed by Fasspay.
“With FassTap, we don’t have to wait as long to pay zakat and will receive a digital receipt via email or short message service (SMS).
“During this pilot test period, we will see if there is room for improvement and we will implement it as soon as possible,” he told reporters after officiating the Zakat Fitrah Payment Pilot Test at the PPZ-MAIWP headquarters, here today.
According to Hakim, PPZ-MAIWP expects that the use of the FassTap application will promote not only the payment of zakat fitrah, but also property zakat and encourage more people to make cash waqf contributions.
In the meantime, he said that so far, PPZ-MAIWP has collected RM1.8 million in zakat fitrah payments involving 52,632 online payers.
Hakim also expressed his confidence that PPZ-MAIWP will be able to achieve the zakat collection target of RM13.8 million by the end of Ramadan when the data on cash payments to 921 amil in the Federal Territories is collected. – Bernama, April 14, 2023
