The Zakat Collection Centre under the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council, also known as Pusat Pungutan Zakat Majlis Agama Islam Wilayah Persekutuan (PPZ-MAIWP), launched its pilot programme today aimed at offering zakat fitrah payment acceptance Fasstap, a software-based point-of-sale technology.
Under the terms of the collaboration with Fass Payment Solutions, those wishing to offer zakat will be able to do so using Tap on Phone contactless payment technology, which enables any Android devices with near field communication capabilities to accept payment in a secure and convenient manner.
Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council CEO Tuan Haji Abdul Hakim Amir Osman said, “This pilot is indeed a proud milestone for us as we will be among the first government-mandated zakat institutions in the world to accept card payment via Tap on Phone through Fasstap, which will enable those wanting to contribute their zakat with MyDebit powered by Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd.”
“As the society turn to cashless solutions to pay for their daily activities, we believe this will offer a more convenient option for those with many dependents and encourage the younger cashless generation to fulfil their Islamic duties, Insya-Allah PPZ-MAIWP targets a total zakat fitrah collection of RM13.8 million throughout Ramadan this year,” he added.
Fasstap is currently being used to empower the Small Medium Enterprises communities including B40 micro merchants with a cost-effective payment solution that offers mobility to users. The solution also allows individual merchants including those running businesses from home to direct their earnings into their personal bank accounts.
The two organisations were eager to deploy the pilot test at three selected locations, PPZ-MAIWP Head Office, Al-Syakirin Mosque at KLCC and Jalan Masjid India. The locations were selected to accommodate the high traffic of zakat payers who are more tech-savvy and constantly looking for convenience to complete their payment transactions.
This year, PPZ-MAIWP assigned 921 zakat collectors for all federal territories including Putrajaya and Labuan. Each collector is assigned at a public location such as mosques, office buildings, shopping malls, public transportation stations and so on to reach out to more Muslims who want to pay their zakat fitrah.
Following this pilot, PPZ-MAIWP foresees a full deployment of Fasstap, where the zakat collection will be extended to other types of zakat, such as income, gold, and savings.
There are also plans for Fass Payment Solutions to develop a zakat-friendly payment ecosystem where key details can be entered before generating an official PPZ-MAIWP receipt, which will be emailed directly to each zakat payer for records and tax exemption purposes.
