
Question:
What is the Ruling on receiving rewards banks give to their depositors for using their debit and credit cards?
Answer:
باسم الله والحمد لله والصلاة والسلام على رسول الله وعلى آله وأصحابه ومن والاه
Firstly, regarding the rewards in relation to debit cards; the relationship between a depositor and a bank, from an Islamic Jurisprudence (Fiqh) standpoint, as per the view of the majority of contemporary Islamic Scholarship, is one of a lender (loaner) and borrower (loanee), with the depositor, in effect, being the lender, and the bank, in effect, being the borrower.
As a result, according to Islamic Law, when someone establishes a bank account and deposits money into it, they are actually lending the bank the money because the bank does not place the money in a safe-keeping box for the depositor, as should be the case in a safe-keeping transaction, but instead uses it for other purposes, with a promise to pay back the deposited amount to the depositor upon a set of agreed terms and conditions.
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