Azlan Othman
The Brunei Islamic Religious Council (MUIB) has introduced an alternative payment method for Zakat Fitrah through the Zakat Fitrah Online Payment Service. This is made possible with the collaboration between Ministry of Religious Affairs, Datastream Digital Sdn Bhd (DST) and Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD).
Guest of honour Minister of Religious Affairs and Chairman of MUIB Pehin Udana Khatib Dato Paduka Seri Setia Ustaz Haji Awang Badaruddin bin Pengarah Dato Paduka Haji Awang Othman officiated the launch yesterday, accompanied by Acting Managing Director of Brunei Investment Agency and Chairman of DST Board of Directors Haji Sofian bin Haji Jani and BIBD Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Mubashar H Khokhar.
A live demonstration of Zakat Fitrah payment methods using BIBD ‘QuickPay’ and the eZakat DST service system was also shown.
Mubashar Khokhar said, “As a Partner in Progress, we are deeply invested in supporting the nation’s drive towards becoming a Smart Nation, empowered by a digital economy.
“One of BIBD’s priorities is to support the nation as we head into a cashless society. We are honoured to partner with the Ministry of Religious Affairs, and are confident that this collaboration will serve as a great example to drive a cashless society.”
The Zakat Fitrah Online Service will provide convenience to all Muslims in Brunei Darussalam in fulfilling their Zakat Fitrah obligations with efficient and secure mode of payment either using DST’s eZakat service or through BIBD ‘QuickPay’
eZakat is a digital platform for the payment of Zakat Fitrah for the holy month of Ramadhan 1442Hijrah/2021.
The platform serves as an alternative to the conventional way of paying Zakat Fitrah. eZakat accepts payments from all Muslims in Brunei for both DST and non-DST subscribers.
It can be accessed either via www.dst.com.bn or www.kheu.gov.bn, and will be enabled from the first of Ramadhan 1442H until the Maghrib prayer time on the 28th of Ramadhan.
Payments can also be made by Mobi and Easi subscribers through deduction from their credits, while non-DST subscribers can make their payment by purchasing Easi Recharge vouchers or by using debit cards.
Meanwhile, customers can also make payment through BIBD QuickPay by scanning a QR code through the BIBD NEXGEN Wallet mobile app on their smartphones, powered by BIBD NEXGEN. A dedicated working group was established comprising officers from the Ministry of Religious Affairs, State Mufti’s Office, Brunei Islamic Religious Council and DST to oversee the development of eZakat following discussions by MUIB and DST on the development of an online digital payment system for Zakat in 2020, amid the challenges posed by the COVID-19 pandemic.
The working group collaboratively reviewed and refined the processes and compliance aspects of the eZakat payment system.
The development of eZakat exemplified a significant milestone in respect of DST’s digital transformation agenda as the eZakat payment system was developed solely using DST’s owned infrastructure; local talent namely DST’s InnoLab, InnoConnect and its internal team of developers.
Members of the DST’s Board of Directors, CEO Radin Sufri bin Radin Basiuni and DST and BIBD senior management attended.