The bank charges you a fixed fee for the service of giving you a card, rather than a charge that grows with the money you owe.
- Cards using it
- 57
- Markets
- United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Oman +2
The mechanics
The contracts behind Islamic credit cards
A credit card cannot charge interest and still be Shariah-compliant. So Islamic banks rebuild the product on a different contract. There are only a handful in use, and the one your bank picked decides what you actually pay.
The bank sells you a commodity on credit at a marked-up price, you sell that commodity to somebody else for cash, and the cash becomes your spending limit.
- Cards using it
- 178
- Markets
- United Arab Emirates, Malaysia, Pakistan, Saudi Arabia
The bank sells you an asset on credit at a high price and immediately buys the same asset back from you for a lower cash price, so you walk away with cash and a bigger debt.
- Cards using it
- 0
The bank buys the thing you want, then sells it to you at a stated cost plus a stated profit, payable later.
- Cards using it
- 160
- Markets
- United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, Malaysia, Pakistan +2
You sell the bank a quantity of goods to be delivered in future, the bank pays you the whole price today, and that advance payment is what you spend on the card.
- Cards using it
- 14
- Markets
- United Arab Emirates
The bank lends you the money and you pay back exactly what you borrowed, not a penny more.
- Cards using it
- 55
- Markets
- United Arab Emirates, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Kuwait +4
The bank stands behind you and promises the shop it will pay, then collects from you.
- Cards using it
- 10
- Markets
- Indonesia
You are renting the use of the card and the payment system, and the rent is the fee.
- Cards using it
- 10
- Markets
- Indonesia
The bank acts as your agent, paying the shops on your behalf, and charges you an agency fee.
- Cards using it
- 9
- Markets
- Bangladesh, Brunei
Two different late-payment charges: one is meant to reimburse the bank's real costs and it keeps that money, the other is a fine and in some countries the bank must give it away.
- Cards using it
- 0