Maybank Islamic, the largest Islamic bank in Malaysia, has introduced digital Zakat auto debut for its Shariah compliant deposits and investment accounts, said to be the first in the country.
The service, provided through Maybank Group’s digital platforms – the MAE app and Maybank2u website – will allow over 4 million of Maybank Islamic customers to consolidate all their Zakat payments for savings and investment accounts into a single statement and to fulfil their Zakat obligations.
The feature will determine if the total balance in the participating accounts meets the minimum amount that a Muslim must possess before being obligated to pay Zakat, or Nisab. Customers meeting this requirement will receive push notifications, informing them of their eligibility for Zakat payment and once the Zakat deduction is made, customers will receive a notification confirming the successful payment.
Zakat payments through this feature are currently only limited to payments to Lembaga Zakat Selangor, the Zakat authority of the state of Selangor. Maybank Islamic expects to expand the service to other Zakat bodies in the “near future”.
“Islamic finance goes beyond just transactional relationship, embodying the values of justice, fairness, and social responsibility. This aspiration carries the greater purpose of helping our customers not just in meeting their financial goals, but also aligned with their spiritual beliefs and ethical needs. With this new solution, customers are offered the convenience to consolidate their zakat contributions seamlessly while fulfilling their spiritual obligations,” commented Maybank Islamic CEO Mohamed Rafique Merican.