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What is the ruling on issuing a free credit card whose contract stipulates the payment of interest upon late payment, knowing that its holder will not use it for borrowing, but rather for its existence to facilitate other transactions? And does he thereby fall into usury?

1 min readAlso available in العربية

It is permissible to use credit cards out of necessity, especially for those residing in the West, provided that the required amount is paid before the end of the grace period to avoid usurious late fees. If cash withdrawal entails usurious interest, then its benefit should be limited to purchasing necessities. Some Islamic banks have issued Sharia-compliant Visa cards free from doubts, and their use is permissible. As for non-Islamic countries, it is permissible to use them in cases of dire necessity, with adherence to payment conditions, and not to use them if there is insufficient balance.

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

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