Leading national e-payment and e-collection services organisation, E-Finance, will run an e-collection service for Zakat House (or Bait Zakat) proceeds, according to an agreement signed between both entities, an official E-Finance statement said on Wednesday. The service will allow zakat payers to perform payment transactions through various e-channels, as offered by the e-payments collection centre managed by the company. The channels are the "efawateer" official website, banks, selling points and post offices An integrated system listing the data of individuals in need of, or entitled to, financial aid will be established. It will also evaluate the extent of need of the potential Zakat receivers, which will be developed by E-Finance and Zakat House. "Eligible segments are divided according to data that have been entered by the social workers through devices connected to the central database of the Zakat House, taking into account the issuance of cards to eligible persons in order to disburse monetary aid in a decent and dignified manner through post offices," the statement noted. The new service's main aim is to establish the principle of solidarity between community members and ease the procedures needed for paying Zakat and charity. Zakat refers to the Islamic practice of an individual donating a certain amount of wealth to charity or people in need. It is an obligation that all Muslims should abide to and it is done on an annual basis. E-Finance is a national company that provides electronic payment along with optimisation and integration services to the financial sector and the government. Source: Daily News Egypt
