A shari’a-compliant debit card which confers on the holder the right to withdraw cash from the balance available on his account or to pay for goods and services purchased up to the level of that balance.

The debit takes effect immediately at the time of a transaction. However, the holder cannot withdraw over and beyond the amount of credit balance already available in the account, and therefore this card doesn’t provide the holder with any credit. The party accepting the card (the trader or seller) is normally charged a commission (calculated based on actual payments- i.e., a percentage of total payment).

From a shari’a perspective, issuing debit cards is permissible on the condition that the cardholder can only have access to the balance available on his account, and that the issuer doesn’t charge any interest with respect to the transactions carried out using the card.