Is it obligatory to transfer to the Islamic transactions branch of the same bank, or to search for another Islamic bank? And are these banks free from the suspicion of usury (riba)? What is the ruling on Forex trading, and is its prohibition due to the interest (fa’ida) taken by the broker?

The basic ruling is that it is forbidden to deal with usurious banks, except out of necessity, provided that the transaction itself is not forbidden. It is permissible to deal with Islamic banks. Islamic branches of usurious banks are treated like Islamic banks if they adhere to Sharia standards and their balance sheets are independent of the parent bank. Otherwise, the default is to deal directly with Islamic banks. As for judging the extent to which an Islamic bank adheres to Sharia, this requires a comprehensive study of its transactions.

Trading currencies through the Forex system is forbidden for several reasons, including: the interest (riba) charged by the broker, overnight fees (swap fees), the lack of immediate exchange (qabd) between currencies, and selling what one does not own. However, if the transaction is free from these Sharia prohibitions, then trading in it is permissible.