Maybank Islamic Berhad and Lembaga Zakat Selangor recently inked a collaborative agreement to ensure customers can effortlessly complete their Zakat obligations while at the same time empowering them to make a significant positive social impact through their donations.
The agreement, which formalised the appointment of Maybank Islamic as the main operational bank for LZS, is envisaged to boost contributions to poverty alleviation programmes, with the Bank amplifying these efforts through its online channels.
“Zakat not only contributes to poverty alleviation but also improves prosperity within a
community. With this partnership, our role as a bank provides the zakat agency with a more efficient and comprehensive cash management services from its zakat collection through to its distribution, as LZS capitalises on Maybank’s vast service network and digital banking,” said Maybank Islamic Chief Executive Officer Dato’ Mohamed Rafique Merican.
LZS will be collecting zakat through multiple collection channels such as M2U, Maybank’s e-
wallet app or MAE, JomPay and credit and debit cards whereas zakat received over the counter will be deposited through a remote deposit system located at the respective branch.
LZS CEO Mohd Sabirin Mohd Sarbini said the agency currently provides more than 10 ways for Muslims in Selangor to pay their zakat.
“The partnership with Maybank Islamic completes our network of service facilities. Our cooperation with the Maybank Group began in 1998 under Malayan Banking Berhad and we
moved to Maybank Islamic in 2022 in line with our aspiration to partner with Shariah-compliant institutions,” he said adding that as a payment channel platform, Maybank played a role in the increase of zakat collection in Selangor where last year, the amount collected via Maybank reached RM52.8 million.
This amount comprised 63% of the total collection derived from the payment channel platform of other financial institutions appointed by LZS. Last year, LZS received a record zakat collection of RM1.07 billion and distributed RM1.05 billion, benefiting more than 350,000 asnaf individuals.
The majority of the zakat, or RM885 million, was dedicated to social, educational, and religious institution pillars and over RM700 million in zakat was allocated towards social development for the asnaf community in Selangor.
