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What is the ruling on using a prepaid Visa card for which the bank charges an annual administrative fee of 75 Riyals?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

If the bank charges a fixed annual or monthly fee for card service, there is no harm in that. The Islamic Fiqh Academy has permitted the issuance and use of covered cards, provided that their terms do not include the payment of interest for late payment. The rulings on fees and discounts for merchants and cash withdrawals apply to them. It is permissible to purchase gold, silver, and currencies with a covered card, but it is not permissible to grant the cardholder forbidden privileges. As for uncovered cards, it is permissible to charge a fixed fee upon issuance or renewal, and the bank may take a commission from the merchant provided that the sale is at the same cash price. Cash withdrawal is permissible if it does not result in an usurious increase, and fixed fees are not considered usury. It is not permissible to purchase gold, silver, or currencies with an uncovered card. It is advisable to use Islamic bank cards that are free from usury.

Summarized from the full answer at Ftawy · reviewed Sep 2, 2026

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