Ruling on paying Zakat al-Fitr in currency

Q: Is it permissible to pay Zakat al-Fitr in riyals, and is it permissible to pay it in a country other than one's own?

A: It is not permissible to pay it in currency according to the majority of scholars; rather, it is obligatory to pay it in food, as the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) and his Companions (may Allah be pleased with them) did. It is one sa' (a dry measure of about 3 kg) of the staple food of the country, such as dates, rice, or something else, using the sa' of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him), for the male and female, the young and the old, the free and the slave, among the Muslims.
The Sunnah is to distribute it among the poor in the zakat-payer's country and not to transfer it to another country, in order to enrich the poor of his country and meet their needs. It is permissible to pay it one or two days before the festival, as the Companions of the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) used to do so, and thus the first time for it is the twenty-eighth night of Ramadan.
And success is from Allah.