Commission for paying bills through e-wallets

A question about commission for paying bills through e-wallets, in which Jordan's General Iftaa Department answered that the e-wallet holder is an agent in making the payment, so he may take a known fee, fixed or as a percentage, if the client pays him the amount at or before the time of payment; if the client does not pay at once, agency and a loan are combined and no commission is permitted. ¹

A shopkeeper who uses e-wallets such as Orange Money and Zain Cash to pay customers' electricity, water and traffic-fine bills and to transfer money for them asked whether he may take a commission, for example charging 11 dinars for a 10-dinar bill or deducting 5 dinars from a 100-dinar transfer. ¹

The Department answered that the e-wallet holder acts as the paying agent of clients who want to settle their bills or transfer money to someone else's account, and that in principle an agent may take a known fee from his principal, whether a fixed amount or a percentage commission, provided the client pays the amount directly before the bill is paid, without deferral. ¹ It said that if the client does not pay at once, the transaction combines agency with a loan from the agent to the client, and the agent may then not take a commission, to avoid any suspicion of riba. ¹ It concluded that the agent may take a known fee for paying bills or making transfers when the client pays him the amount at the time of payment or before it. ¹

Jordan's General Iftaa Department published this fatwa on aliftaa.jo as no. 3731, dated 14 November 2022. ¹ The museum records this text as a historical document attributed to the body or scholar that issued it; it issues no ruling of its own.