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Is online trade permissible in the following cases: the customer pays a third party (automatic payment service provider) with a 2% fee, then the order is sent to the distributor who prepares the goods and ships them directly to the buyer, whether the amount was deposited with the distributor in advance or paid to him later based on the invoice, with the money being withdrawn from the automatic payment service provider later? Is it also permissible if the buyer is allowed to pay via invoice within 14 days or by installments, knowing that installments involve usury between the buyer and the automatic payment service provider?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is permissible for the buyer to pay the price to the automated payment provider, with 2% as a fee. It is not permissible to sell a commodity before possessing it, taking possession of it, and removing it from the distributor's premises, based on the Prophet's (peace be upon him) saying: "Do not sell what you do not possess," and "He forbade selling goods where they are purchased until merchants take possession of them and move them to their own places." This issue can be resolved in several ways: a promise to sell after possession, or by acting as an agent for the distributor for a commission, or as an agent for the buyer, or by utilizing a salam contract (selling a described commodity with the full price paid at the time of the contract). What was mentioned about the customer's dealing with the automated payment provider in installments with an increase is not permissible and constitutes usury (riba).

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

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