Fintech and Islamic Social Finance: Digitalizing Waqf and Zakat For Poverty Alleviation in Southeast Asia

Abstract

Islamic social finance, particularly zakat and waqf instruments, has significant potential as a catalyst for poverty alleviation in Southeast Asia. However, traditional management is often faced with issues of transparency, distribution inefficiency, and limited reach. This study aims to analyze how the integration of financial technology (fintech) in the Islamic social finance system can optimize the management of zakat and waqf to alleviate poverty in Southeast Asia. Using the Systematic Literature Review (SLR) method analyzing various academic publications from 2021 to 2026, the findings of this study indicate that the adoption of fintech innovations such as crowdfunding platforms, blockchain, and artificial intelligence (AI) has been empirically proven to improve fund collection efficiency, accelerate distribution times, and increase public trust (muzakki and waqif). Although these breakthroughs offer significant impacts on poverty alleviation and the achievement of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), there are still various challenges such as low digital literacy among vulnerable communities, the lack of integrated cross-border regulatory frameworks, and sharia compliance issues in advanced innovations. This article recommends the need for an adaptive and inclusive regulatory model to ensure a sustainable digital Islamic social finance ecosystem in the region.