What is the ruling on the 1% instant settlement fee charged by a financing company on merchants' dues—is it permissible, considering it an administrative fee, or forbidden, as it is usurious interest?

Selling a deferred debt for less than its value in cash to someone other than the debtor is forbidden usury (riba), and this is what the financing company does, aiming to profit through the aforementioned discount rate. Selling debt to someone other than the debtor is a matter of scholarly disagreement, with the majority prohibiting it. Those who permitted it set conditions that are not met here, the most important of which is equivalence when selling debt of the same kind. Permissible administrative fees are those that equate to the actual cost of covering the service.