KUALA LUMPUR: In its efforts to make payment of 'zakat fitrah' easier among muslims in the country, the Zakat Collection Centre under the Federal Territories Islamic Religious Council, in collaboration with Fass Payment Solutions Sdn Bhd (Fasspay), has launched a pilot programme called 'zakat fitrah' payment acceptance Fasstap.
This software-based point of sale (SoftPOS) technology enables those wishing to pay zakat to do so using Tap on Phone contactless payment technology on any Android devices with Near Field Communication (NFC) capabilities.
PPZ-WAIWP's chief executive officer Abdul Hakim Amir Osman said the pilot is a milestone for PPZ-WAIWP as it will be among the first government-mandated zakat institutions in the world to accept card payment via Tap on Phone through Fasstap.
"This will enable those wanting to contribute their zakat with MyDebit (ATM cards) powered by Payments Network Malaysia Sdn Bhd (PayNet)."
"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 said.
"Alhamdulillah, we are very grateful and honoured to kick start this pilot with PPZ-MAIWP. It will help us understand PPZ-MAIWP's specific requirements while expanding our Fasstap functions to ensure a more seamless, convenient and secure zakat payment experience," said Fasspay's head, Government and Public Sector Business Development, Johan Zep Md Yusof.
"This is in line with our existing strategic aspiration – to support the government's call to elevate Malaysia towards a more cashless society," he said.
Fasstap is currently being used to empower the small and medium-sized 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.
Currently, the pilot test is being carried out at three selected locations – PPZ-MAIWP head office, Al-Syakirin Mosque at KLCC and Jalan Masjid India. The locations were selected to accommodate high traffic of zakat payers who are more tech-savvy and constantly looking for convenience completing payment transactions.
This year, PPZ-MAIWP assigned 921 'amils' (zakat collectors) for all Federal Territories including Putrajaya and Labuan. Each amil 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 harta including zakat pendapatan (income), zakat emas (gold), zakat simpanan (savings) to name a few.
There are also plans for Fasspay 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.