Abu Huraira An-Najmi Bin Ali; Ziyaad Mahomed (INCEIF, 2020)
E-wallets have been rising rapidly both in usage and issuers as cashless payment paved its way to the new era of Industry 4.0. As Malaysia intends to maintain its leadership in Islamic finance, this particular fintech innovation need not escape the views of Shariah scholars. This paper outlines the main criteria for assessing the permissibility of e-wallets from a Shariah perspective. Accordingly, it revises the findings of previous literature in terms of the Fiqh adaptation of Malaysian e-wallet, Boost after reviewing the e-money guidelines issued by BNM. Additionally, this study has also conducted a Shariah analysis of additional local e-wallets; Touch N Go E-wallet and Lazada Wallet, and also major e-wallets outside Malaysia; Alipay, WeChat Pay, M-Pesa, Paytm and GoPay using the proposed assessment method. The findings of this paper are hoped to be a future reference for further studies in developing better Shariah screening assessments for e-wallets. It is also expected to be a reference for the regulators and standard setters in developing robust guidelines and standards for e-wallets that claim Shariah compliance.
