Is E-Bucks Halal?
Question:
Is ebucks Halal? Please also mention good shariah compliant investments?
Answer:
In the Name of Allah, the Most Gracious, the Most Merciful.
As-salāmu ‘alaykum wa-rahmatullāhi wa-barakātuh.
We sincerely apologize for our belated response.
Your question refers.
- E-Bucks – The concept of e-bucks as defined by the e-bucks website as follows: E-Bucks Rewards is FNB and RMB Private Bank's rewards programme that enables you to earn eBucks for doing everyday things like shopping, filling up with fuel or loading airtime. You can spend the eBucks you earn on fuel, electronics and appliances, travel, books, CDs and DVDs, flowers, outdoor equipment, fashion – you name it. With eBucks Rewards you save money every time you spend. This means you can do more and get more for less.
In general, e-bucks and FNB as partners provide rewards to customers to motivate them to purchase more items each time they use their FNB cheque or credit card at qualifying and participating stores. They also provide discounts to certain customers based on their reward level which is determined based on the card usage at qualifying stores.
Although FNB does not directly charge for e-bucks, there are ancillary fees charged to the e-bucks account such as monthly rewards fee, transactions fees and services fees. You also pay a credit card linkage fee on annual basis.[1]
The concept of e-bucks is permitted on the basis of Ju’aalah/reward, Hibah/gifting and Ijarah/service in Shariah. Essentially you receive a reward from the bank for conducting certain activities at qualifying stores. Your funds are not directly linked to the transaction as the e-bucks rewards systems is totally independent of your fiduciary relationship with the bank. The bank issues the e-bucks holder with a gift/Hibah when purchasing specific items at qualifying stores. This gift is separate and independent from your bank account with the bank as there is a separate agreement for e-bucks and a separate agreement with your bank account with the bank. You are also charged services fees including a yearly linkage fee which construes a valid Ujrah/service fee against the services offered by the bank in arranging the discounts and rewards.
Furthermore, the customer engages in a separate transaction with the qualifying stores through the purchase of items for a discounted rate based on the reward level. Kindly refer to the following clause on the e-bucks website:
“We reserve the right to offer Members special deals on various spend items.
Any offer to purchase products and services via the eBucks Rewards Programme does not constitute any guarantee that your offer to purchase will be accepted.”
The above clearly demonstrates the individuality and severability of the discounted transaction as opposed to an outright monetary right in exchange of a loan. Therefore the concept of e-bucks is not of a usurious nature.
Moreover, the concept of e-bucks rewards is non-analogous to e-money or fiat money as stated in the following clause:
You may not sell, issue, exchange, barter or redeem eBucks for cash. Your eBucks may only be used or spent through our spend channels listed on Our Website. You may not exchange or sell any other goods or services for eBucks.
This clause clarifies the nature of e-bucks in terms of the non-monetary nature of the reward itself. In other words, the reward is non-analogous to fiat/e-money and cannot be exchanged for cash. Therefore the concept of e-bucks is not Riba/excess charged over and above a loan since Riba consists of a counter that is of the same Jins/genus and Qadar. In fact, e-bucks is simply a provision of a discount provided upfront for potential transactions with qualifying stores. According to Shariah, the pricing of a transaction may be determined upfront in view of a credit/cash sale since the execution of the transaction is fixed upfront (Bay Baat/Nafiz).
The opinion provided that e-bucks is analogous to Riba on a loan is rebutted on the premise of the above clear terms provided by e-bucks itself and given the individual and severable nature of the concept of e-bucks from a customer’s bank account.
Therefore in light of the above explanation and our understanding of the issue, the concept of e-bucks with a service fee such as credit card linkage fee is permitted. We however advise the public to abstain from the e-bucks competitions programme.
- Shariah Compliant Investments – We have structured a number of shariah compliant investment solutions. We only issue the shariah certification and are not involved in the actual management nor operations of the investments. You are most welcome to contact us for further details on specific shariah compliant investments. Kindly also refer to our article on Shariah investments: https://www.shariahbusiness.com/shariah-insights/what-is-a-shariah-compliant-investment
and Allah Ta'ala Knows Best
Mufti Ismail Desai
Darul Iftaa
Durban, South Africa
1. https://www.ebucks.com/web/eBucks/legal/termsandconditions/#ACCEPTANCE, last accessed on 14 November 2021.
(Announcement: The Darul Iftaa under the auspices of the Mufti Ebrahim Desai Foundation is managed by Mufti Ismail Desai Saheb, son of Hazrat Mufti Ebrahim Desai Saheb RA. Mufti Ismail Desai will continue his academic career by conducting an intensive one year specialist programme in Islamic Finance, Banking and economics (MA) and Iftaa training programme for Ulema and Shariah graduates. Mufti Ismail Desai Saheb will also be conducting various programmes for the public on Islamic Finance, Ishaahi Majlis and general Islamic Q&A. Alhamdulillah the Darul Iftaa currently has over 50 students from over 32 countries globally. The Darul Iftaa will be conducting programmes on Islamic Finance, Business and Economics in various cities/countries. The programme is conducted free of charge and you can request an event by contacting us directly at www.shariahbusiness.com. You can contact the Mufti Ebrahim Desai Foundation for any details on Hazrat Mufti Ebrahim Desai RA at www.muftiebrahimdesai.com. We will keep you updated on our programmes and events via our email data base and other media channels)
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