Is it better when paying Zakat to make it public or private?

It is better to make the obligatory Zakat manifest, following the example of others and to avoid ill-suspicion, unless there is a fear of showing off (riya') or causing harm to the poor, in which case secrecy is more virtuous. One can also combine both approaches by making some of it manifest and keeping some of it secret. This is the view of the majority of scholars, and that the noble verse: (If you disclose your charitable expenditures, it is good; but if you conceal them and give them to the poor, it is better for you) pertains specifically to voluntary charity.