Indonesian digital payment platform LinkAja has officially launched a shariah-compliant wallet service, the company announced on Tuesday. LinkAja is the first mobile wallet to get a license from the national shariah council, which allows the platform to facilitate various types of payments that are in accordance with Islamic rules.
What makes LinkAja shariah different from regular services is that it collects customer funds via shariah-compliant banks, with transactions that are free from elements of interest, ambiguity, gambling, and non-halal trading activities that are prohibited under Islamic rules, according to the company statement.
The new product focuses on three main activities, the digitizing of religious and charitable donations, the empowering of mosques through online endowments, as well as digital payments for Islamic boarding schools and SMEs, said Haryati Lawidjaja, acting CEO of LinkAja. The platform is currently working with more than 1,000 mosques, 242 Islamic charitable institutions, various Islamic boarding schools, as well as online and offline merchants.
“Considering that Islamic financial literacy is consistently increasing in Indonesia, we hope LinkAja shariah can provide convenience for Muslim communities throughout the country to fulfill their daily needs,” Lawidjaja said on a web press conference.
With this new service, LinkAja wants to support the government’s Islamic economy development plan that aims to make Indonesia the center of the global shariah economy. Indonesia has worldwide the largest Muslim population.
The platform plans to add more financial features in the near future, including Islamic insurance and investment services. LinkAja claims to have currently 40 million registered users and 500 merchants and targets to reach at least one million monthly active users for its shariah platform this year.
