Smart Dubai has collaborated with the UAE Zakat Fund to launch a new and secure Zakat payment service on the government service application DubaiNow in time for the Holy Month of Ramadan and in line with Smart Dubai’s mission to provide users of the app with comprehensive smart services that ease every aspect of their everyday lives.
The new service allows users to calculate their Zakat amount in accordance with Islamic Sharia law, and then pay the full amount or part of it. The feature adds to the existing set of services in the Donations and Islam categories of the DubaiNow app, which include the Zakat Al-Fitr payment service and allow users to donate Iftar meals in collaboration with the Dar al Ber Society.
Smart Dubai aims to provide the public with easy solutions to pay their Zakat Al-Fitr from the convenience of their phones or smart devices, without needing to physically visit a center or a charity to make the payment, in line with the precautionary measures to combat COVID-19.
“DubaiNow has established itself as an innovative city app allowing users to easily complete their everyday tasks and transactions, saving them time and effort,” said His Excellency Wesam Lootah, CEO of the Smart Dubai Government Establishment. “The application is a key driver of Smart Dubai’s strategic goals, accelerating the holistic digital transformation of the city, and helping transform the Dubai Government into a fully paperless government by December 12, 2021.”
“Our focus is currently on providing people with comprehensive, high-quality smart services that anticipate and meet their expectations, as well as offering effective, round-the-clock digital solutions,” H.E. Lootah added.
“Various government entities have made tremendous efforts that contributed to the development of the DubaiNow application, populating it with a wide range of services,” H.E. explained. “This resonates with our goal to embrace advanced technologies and use them to create a unique living experience for Dubai’s citizens and residents, which, in turn, fulfils the vision of our wise leadership to provide a single, integrated platform for all government services and make people’s lives easier and happier.”
On this occasion, H.E. Abdullah Bin Oqeedah Almuhairy, Zakat Fund Secretary General (ZFSG), praised this joint initiative with Smart Dubai that resulted into launching a Zakat payment service through DubaiNow. H.E. Almuhairy said that launching a new payment channel through DubaiNow is an interpretation of the directives of the federal government that call for enhancing strategic partnerships with local governments. Since its establishment, the Zakat Fund has been working on expanding and facilitating government services provided to beneficiaries.
H.E. Almuhairy expressed his confidence that this advanced payment portal will guarantee easier Zakat payment for current and new Zakat payers. H.E. added that this initiative comes as part of the series of continuous digitization efforts by Dubai Government, since the establishment of the Smart Dubai digital portal in 2005. H.E. Almuhairy said that Smart Dubai was the first entity to communicate with the Zakat Fund. H.E. Almuhairy also acknowledged the role played by the Zakat Fund’s strategic partners and their contribution to upgrading its services and facilitating relevant procedures. The Zakat Fund always works on strengthening ways of constructive cooperation and joint work with all partners for achieving common goals and for supporting the growth and prosperity of the nation.
Individuals wishing to pay their Zakat and/or Zakat al-Fitr can take advantage of DubaiNow’s easy and flexible services, as well as fast transaction processing. The application can be downloaded from Apple’s App Store and Google Play for Android.
DubaiNow is the app for all your city services, with access to more than 130 services from over 30 government and private entities. The services can be grouped into 12 different categories, namely: Bills, Mobile, Driving, Housing, Residency, Health, Education, Police, Travel, Islam, Donations, and General.
