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Is there any suspicion of usury in AlJazira Bank's Visa card, or not?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is not possible to rule on the mentioned bank card without knowing its system and conditions. However, there are শরী'আ-compliant regulations for dealing with credit cards (Visa). The Islamic Fiqh Academy has issued rulings regarding covered and uncovered cards:

Covered Cards: It is permissible to issue and deal with them if they do not involve usurious interest upon late payment. The rulings regarding fees, discounts to merchants, and cash withdrawals apply to them, with specific regulations. It is permissible to purchase gold, silver, or currencies with them. It is not permissible to grant the cardholder forbidden privileges such as commercial insurance. Permissible privileges include priority in obtaining services or price reductions. Islamic financial institutions must adhere to শরী'আ regulations when offering alternatives to uncovered cards.

Uncovered Cards: It is not permissible to issue or deal with them if they are conditioned on an increase in usurious interest. It is permissible to issue them if they do not include conditions for a usurious increase. It is permissible to charge a fixed fee upon issuance or renewal in exchange for services, and to take a commission from the merchant, provided that the selling price with the card is the same as the cash selling price. Cash withdrawal from them is considered a loan, and there is no objection to it if it does not result in a usurious increase. The fixed fees for the service are not considered usury. It is not permissible to purchase gold, silver, and currencies with them.

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

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