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Madinat al-Muslimeen Islamic Message Board
| IslamicGreenzap, Shariah Compliant Paypal Alternative |
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| m12345 |
| 05/08/05 at 07:30:02 |
| Assalamu Aleikom wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuh, IslamicGreenZap.com introduces a Shariah Compliant Alternative to Paypal, WorldPay, 2Checkout and all other Online Payment Solutions. [URL=http://www.islamicgreenzap.com/]Islamic Greenzap Website[/URL] [IMG]http://www.islamicgreenzap.com/images/islamicgreenzapbanner.jpg[/IMG] What do you all think about it? Jazakum Allah Khair :) |
| 05/08/05 at 07:32:10 |
| m12345 |
| a |
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| MIT |
| 05/08/05 at 08:46:17 |
| assalaamu alaikum Without having done any investigation - whats unislamic about paypal and worldpay, etc? |
| explanation |
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| m12345 |
| 05/08/05 at 09:53:45 |
| wa Aleikom Assalam wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuh, In my explanation i am refering to Paypal's Merchant account, where a percentage-based fee is charged on every transaction [1.9%-2.9% + $0.30]. This issue has been occupying my mind for a while now since there was no alternative for people who trade online, and that's why i asked a graduate Sheikh of Islamic University of Madinah about it. The Sheikh explained that there is a strong Shubha (Doubt) of Riba in Paypal's percentage-based fee, since the transaction (between the merchant and Paypal) does not involve any type of service or product, but merely a money-money transaction. That is because when someone sends you a payment, it actually goes from him/her to Paypal, and then another transaction takes place between you and Paypal, where the money is re-forwarded to you after deducting their percentage-based fee. I.E. the amount of money that you originally own as a merchant (for the good or service), was returned back to you in a LESS amount (i.e. Riba). Some people argue that it is like doing business and Paypal get their commission, but still that is not a valid argument, because Paypal are simply not part of the buying/selling process, AND Paypal still get their percentage-based fee even if you sold the product or service with a net loss (i.e. they are not business partners). As the quran says: Al-Baqarah 2:275 "Those who eat Riba (usury) will not stand (on the Day of Resurrection) except like the standing of a person beaten by Shaitan (Satan) leading him to insanity. That is because they say: "Trading is only like Riba (usury)," whereas Allah has permitted trading and forbidden Riba (usury). So whosoever receives an admonition from his Lord and stops eating Riba (usury) shall not be punished for the past; his case is for Allah (to judge); but whoever returns (to Riba (usury)), such are the dwellers of the Fire - they will abide therein." In the end, the sheikh said that Paypal can be used in case "there were no alternatives". Alhamdullilah, a new system is starting in June (GreenZap) and it follows a flat rate fee structure. That flat-rate structure is allowed for sure, since the system needs to get their Ujra (fee), in some way. I am sure we can find some opinions that allow Paypal, but (apart from the fact that flat-rate is cheaper) i just feel more comfortable using the doubtless flat-rate system. I hope my explanation was clear enough. |
| hmm |
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| jannah |
| 05/08/05 at 13:13:05 |
| slm, hmm i don't see how percentage fee is ribaa?? we pay taxes that are based on percentage of what we earn.. we pay percentages on almost every service... if paypal is offering a service and we're asking them to send X amount of money and the greater X is the more it takes them to do it then they should charge us percentage of X for that service??? not to take away from your business.. alhamdulillah it's nice to have islamic banks and services.. |
| reply |
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| m12345 |
| 05/08/05 at 18:00:02 |
| wa Alaikom Assalam wa Rahmatullah wa Barakatuh, Dear Sister, Without getting into much detail, percentage-based fees on money-money (ONLY) transactions are non-Shariah Compliant. That is simply because there is no product or service given in return. You own an amount of money, but you get it in a less amount after it goes through Paypal. You might say it is just Paypal's charges, but they do exactly the same work whether the amount is $1 or $10000, so the percentage based fee is not because they do extra work as the amount increases. On the other hand, GreenZao charges a fixed rate of $1 per transaction. They simply understand that they will do exactly the same work whether the amount is large or small. So they are encouraging people to use their service by offering such a low fee. Also not to forget all the other benefits that a GreenZap member gets. Regards, |
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