The new facility makes donations easier to support chosen projects

Dubai, UAE, June 5, 2016: In its mission to create better opportunities and a brighter future for the underprivileged, Mashreq Al Islami, the Islamic Banking division of UAE’s leading financial institution, announced UAE’s First Digital Charity Account called ‘AHSEN’.

In partnershipwith Beit Al Khair, Dar Al Ber and Fujairah Welfare, three leading humanitarian beneficial entitiesoperating in the UAE, the charity account aims to raise awareness and spreada new way of thinking about donations and charitable benefits, while making the process of donating money more traceable and interactive on Mashreq Al Islami’sall-new Charity Account.

Through an improved online infrastructure, holders of the Mashreq Al Islami Charity Account will be able to see a list of charity projects administered by either Beit Al Khair or Dar Al Ber or Fujairah Welfare, including the total amount of proceeds needed to complete them. Whether the goal is to support the construction of a well in countries that lack water, a school to help underprivileged students build a brighter future, or you are looking to adopt an orphan, you will be able to closely track the process and see the improvements made.‘AHSEN’allows clients to donate in a non-traditional way through Mashreq Al Islami.

Commenting on this tie-up, H.E. Abdul Aziz Al Ghurair,said: “We are blessed to be in a country where the culture of giving is deeply rooted in our society and it has been always nurtured by our leaders since the inception of the UAE. Today, the UAE has become the largest aid donor in the world, according to international monitoring agencies. The UAE has always believed in leading the way rather than following and for this reason has earned itself a coveted position on the global stage. The UAE does not provide conditional assistance or wait for returns. The UAE simply wants stability and welfare for people around the world.”

Any Mashreq customer can donate using MashreqOnline, Snapp or any Mashreq ATM. For non-Mashreq customers, the bank has launched an instant Islamic Account which can be opened immediately from its website www.mashreq.com. This will allow non-customers to conveniently and instantly join this program and monitor the charity progress.

Al Ghurair added: “In our way of contributing to the UAE’s culture of giving, we are pleased to launch the UAE’s first ever Charity Digital Account. It is truly unique whereby donors will freely choose the charity projects of their choice and virtually monitor the progress of it.”

With Mashreq Al Islami’s new Charity Account, every donation made by any customer will be put into effect immediately; at the same time, an update of the process will be shown in the ‘progress bar’, giving a clear indication of the overall funds needed to complete a certain project and also tracking how much money is left for the goal to be achieved. Once the full amount is collected, the proceedswill be sent to the respective charity organisation – Beit Al Khair or Dar Al Beror Fujairah Welfare–for them to start completing the project on the ground.

The first phase will allow Education and Orphan sponsorship of 100 kids, making water available for 3400 people in Ethiopia through the water extension project. It is expected that the sponsorship will include more projects in the future.

H.E.AbdeenTaher Al-Awadi, Executive Director of Beit Al Khair Society, said: “We are pleased to join forces with Mashreq Al Islami to help facilitate a more goal-driven charity. We see great opportunities in the banks’ new charity platform, as it gives donators the opportunity to visualise what is happening with their money, follow the process real-time, and hopefully feel more connected to the social cause they are supporting.”

Al-Awadi added: “This partnership that we have in place with Mashreq Al Islami, will employ advanced technology, in order to encourage the public to donate in a smart and easy way. This will certainly result in a new shift in charity work, and will open new and more doors for good work. Since inception, Beit Al Khair, has always been open to new ideas and collaborations to integrate efforts and ultimately do more good for the community and the advancement of families and groups with lower income and the underprivileged.

Beit Al Khair is heavily active in charitable projects and programs that have a positive effect on the UAE and other countries, including construction and humanitarian projects, like building 28,843 mosques that had an overall cost of around AED 950 Million. The Society sponsors 100,000 orphan children inside and outside the country, which has an estimated cost of AED 367 Million. In addition to sponsoring families with special needs, students’ education and Quran teachers.

During the holy month of Ramadan, Beit Al Khair has an Iftar project with over one Million beneficiary people (the project costs AED 30 Million), as well as distributing Zakat al-Fitr, Eid clothes, sponsoring families and distributing meat. The Society is involved in several cultural and religious projects like printing copies of the Quran (over AED 64 Million in cost), supporting centers that specialize in memorizing the Quran in the UAE and outside (over AED 12 Million in cost), and a variety of projects like printing scientific books and culturally diverse leaflets.

Abdullah Ali Bin Zayed, Executive Director of Dar Al Ber Society, added: “Because Mashreq Al Islami’s Charity Account simplifies the process of donating money, we expect a great leap forward supported bygreater motivation driving people’s donations; at this point, donating money is no longer a seasonal activity – something that people only commit to duringthe Holy month of Ramadan; instead, humanitarian work becomes a part of their everyday lives, with people’s donations and charitable actions going beyond traditional paradigms.”

Dar Al Ber Society is very active in many projects, including construction, humanitarian, orphans, disabled families, Zakat and projects of memorizing the Quran, as well as educational projects inside the UAE and outside. The Society sponsors more than 100,000 orphans, has built more than 24,000 Mosques, more than 168,000 beneficiary families and has completed more than 18,000 aid projects.

The UAE has established a global status for humanitarian aid, its legacy of supporting international development efforts has been recognised particularly in times of global crisis; the tie-up between Mashreq Al Islami, Beit Al Khair, Dar Al Berand Fujairah Welfareis in line with the country’s primary goals and a priority in aid giving.