Abstract
Trust among zakat payers is important as it contributes to the success of zakat institutions. Zakat payers, are reluctant to pay zakat through zakat institutions due to lack of trust. This study examines whether perceived board management and governmental model may influence zakat payers' trust on zakat institutions. Using questionnaire survey on 184 zakat payers, this study shows that perceived board management influences zakat payers' trust on zakat institutions. By contrast, perceived governmental model does not influence zakat payers' trust on zakat institutions. These findings imply that zakat institutions should focus on strengthening the efficiency of their institutions to increase the trust level among zakat payers. In doing so, the zakat payers are driven to pay zakat diligently, thereby ensuring the sustainability of zakat institutions particularly in developing countries such as Malaysia.