Zakat Fund, an entity created by the UAE Government to collect charity and zakat funds, will set up a chain of kiosks with automatic teller machines across the UAE to facilitate zakat payment.

Ahmed Al Zaabi, a senior office of Zakat Fund UAE, told Emirates Business the first such machine would be installed at the Marina Mall in Abu Dhabi.

Ahmed said: "This is one of the first such ATM machine used exclusively for making zakat payment. Within next four months we will install four zakat ATMs. By next year-end, we will have 15 machines at prominent locations in Dubai, Abu Dhabi and Al Ain."

"This is considered the latest zakat payment mechanism of its kind and the new machines will allow customers to use ATM cards to calculate and pay zakat. With this new technology, people can calculate the amount of zakat by simply accessing any ATM machine associated with the Zakat Fund. These machines will soon be placed all over the UAE," he said.

The specialised zakat ATM network will help calculate the amount due and enable believers to pay in cash by inserting the bills into the ATM. There is also a provision to automatically deduct the amount from the users debit or credit cards," he said.

"With a language option in English and Arabic, the user can select the mode of payment and the bank through which payment is to be made. Users will get clear instructions to calculate and pay all type of zakat and after inserting the cash or credit card in the machine slot, a bill is also made on the spot. It is expected the kiosk network will spread to other Gulf countries which are looking to develop similar systems."

The Zakat Fund, formed four years ago, currently accepts donations and zakat through dedicated bank accounts with leading Islamic bank and online payment through its website. One such machine is being used in Kuwait.

Recently there has been many restrictions on paying zakat and other charity money through the banking network due to anti-money laundering and anti-terrorism financing rules introduced by international organisations.

Smart Vision, an Abu Dhabi based company offering the smart kiosk solutions, will install and maintain the zakat ATM network in the UAE. An official from Smart Vision said the solution offers an ideal mechanism for the Arab and Islamic world to make easy payment of Zakat funds. Two years ago the Dubai eGovernment started a partnership with the Zakat Fund to launch eZakat, the first electronic zakat payment channel through its ePay service.