Administrative fees on an interest-free loan card

A question about administrative fees on an interest-free loan card, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that a borrower may be charged administrative fees equal to the actual cost without any profit margin, provided they are kept in a separate account and any surplus goes to mutual-help and charitable purposes. ¹

The questioner asked about charging a fixed administrative fee to users of an interest-free loan card, with a dedicated fund covering only actual administrative costs and any surplus directed to internal mutual-help work such as assistance on a death. ¹

The Department answered that there is no objection to charging the borrower the administrative fees on the loan, provided they equal the real cost of servicing it without the slightest profit for the lender, quoting resolution no. 13 (1/3) of the Islamic Fiqh Academy that fees for loan services may be taken within actual expenses and that anything above them is forbidden riba. ¹ It said that a commission or profit taken by the lender or guarantor counts as riba and as consuming people's wealth unlawfully. ¹ It said the fees should in principle be kept in a separate account, and if they turn out to exceed the actual cost, the excess is spent on mutual-help and charitable purposes so that no benefit returns to the fund; allocating it to mutual help among employees is permissible. ¹

Jordan's General Iftaa Department published this fatwa on aliftaa.jo as no. 4448, dated 23 April 2026. ¹ The museum records this text as a historical document attributed to the body or scholar that issued it; it issues no ruling of its own.