LAHORE: Punjab Minister for Zakat & Ushr Nadeem Kamran has said the payment of Zakat funds will be made through branchless banking and Telenor Easypaisa has been selected for this purpose.

The decision has been taken to save the deserving people from the trouble of opening bank accounts and encashment of cheques, says a handout.

Initially, a pilot project will be launched in Lahore, Sheikhupura and Hafizabad.

The minister, while speaking at the signing ceremony of an MoU between his department and Telenor at a local hotel, pledged to ensure transparency in the new mode of payment to the deserving. He said the department had decided to enhance the amount of subsistence allowance from Rs500 to 1,000 while Zakat would be paid to the people after every three months.

He said the marriage grant for girls had been enhanced from Rs10,000 to 20,000.

Earlier, Zakat & Ushr Secretary Habibur Rehman Gilani and officials of Telenor Easypaisa spoke.

Published in Dawn, September 15th, 2014