Islamic credit cards in Brunei

The market

Brunei is effectively a one-issuer market for Islamic credit cards. Bank Islam Brunei Darussalam (BIBD) is the country's dominant bank and the only Shariah-compliant credit-card issuer identified: five consumer credit cards and a corporate card. Baiduri Bank, the other major bank, is conventional and no Islamic credit card was found for it — though that is a NOT-FOUND, not a proven absence (see BN-banks.json). Islamic financial assets are reported to represent over half of Brunei's total market share. The distinguishing structural fact is the CONTRACT: BIBD runs its cards on Al-Wakalah bil Ujrah — agency with a fee — where the bank acts on the cardholder's behalf to administer payment to the merchant via the card scheme, for a fee. That is a different family of contract from Indonesia's Kafalah + Qardh + Ijarah, from Malaysia's Bai' al-Inah and Tawarruq, and from the Gulf's Ujrah-and-Tawarruq blends. The recurring charge is an Administration Fee of 1.5% a month applied to the CARD LIMIT — the same limit-based (rather than balance-based) design used across Indonesia, arrived at through a completely different contract. The offsetting rebate, Ibra', is explicitly DISCRETIONARY and is never granted on cash advances.

Who decides what is compliant

Brunei is unusual in having a STATUTORY national Shariah authority for finance. The Syariah Financial Supervisory Board (SFSB / Majlis Penyeliaan Kewangan Syariah) was established under the Syariah Financial Supervisory Board Order, 2006, which provides a framework for the control of the administration and business dealings of financial institutions in respect of Islamic products and any Islamic financial matter — Islamic banking business, takaful business, Islamic financial business, Islamic development financial business, and any other business relating to Shariah principles. Each bank additionally maintains its own Shariah Advisory Body; BIBD publishes its Shariah Advisory Body Resolutions.

Rules that limit you

• BIBD's card terms require that the card be used only for activities not contrary to Shariah, and define 'Merchant' as expressly EXCLUDING Shariah non-compliant business. A Merchant Category Code blacklist is embedded in the terms
• Muslim cardholders are told they are 'not encouraged to purchase gold or silver using the Card to avoid from transacting with usury or riba' — a restriction not seen in the Indonesian or Turkish terms read
• The card cannot be used to pay the cardholder's own monthly obligations to the bank or its subsidiaries
• Payment is due within 25 days of the statement date
• Ibra' (rebate) is discretionary and is offered only on retail and online transactions — it expressly excludes cash advances and any unpaid Administration Fee