Maldives Zakat House has announced that arrangements have been made to accept Zakat al-Fitr payments in cash and via debit and credit cards for individuals who are unable to make payments online.

The institution stated that counters have been established at the Islamic Centre Conference Hall in Malé City to facilitate payments. From Sunday, members of the public have been able to pay Zakat al-Fitr at these counters using cash and bank cards.

Zakat payments will be accepted from 22 February to 9 March on all days except official public holidays, between 10:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. From 10 March to 19 March, payments will be accepted every day except Fridays and Saturdays, between 11:00 a.m. and 2:00 p.m.

In the atolls, individuals who are unable to make payments online are required to pay Zakat al-Fitr through their respective island and city councils. Councils will utilise a specially developed Fitr portal to receive cash payments and record transactions.

Zakat House stated that when payments are made in cash at council offices or at the Islamic Centre, authorised staff will immediately record the transaction in the portal. Upon completion, an SMS confirmation will be sent to the payer confirming the Zakat amount. If an additional amount is paid as Sadaqah, that sum will also be reflected in the message.

While cash and card payments commenced on Sunday, Maldives Zakat House has been accepting Fitr Zakat payments online since the first day of Ramadan. This year, payment arrangements have been made through seven online platforms, namely the Dhiraagu Mobile App and Dhiraagu Pay website, the Ooredoo M-Faisaa mobile application, the Maldives Islamic Bank mobile app, the Bank of Maldives mobile app, the FahiPay mobile app, the Avas mobile app and the BandeyriPay website.

Fitr Zakat payments can be made through BandeyriPay and FahiPay until the final day of Ramadan. Payments via the remaining platforms will be accepted until 6:00 a.m. on the 27th day of Ramadan.

For this Ramadan, the prescribed Zakat al-Fitr amounts have been set at MVR 12 for ordinary rice, MVR 53 for Thai white rice, MVR 96 for red rice, MVR 77 for standard basmati rice, MVR 109 for premium basmati rice, and MVR 136 for super premium basmati rice. The amount has been set at MVR 10 for ordinary flour and MVR 75 for wheat flour.