What is mobile banking?
In a word, mobile banking is the name of the transaction of money through mobile phone using the network of mobile phone operators. Banking without branches or offices is gaining popularity in populous Bangladesh. Initially BRAC Bank and Dutch Bangla Bank started their activities but now many banks are entering this trend. No doubt, the number of mobile banking companies will continue to increase day by day.
What are the services?
The services that mobile banking companies are providing so far are as follows:
1. Sending money from one place to another.
2. Mobile phone recharge.
3. Withdrawal of money deposited in the mobile banking account from the agent.
4. Withdrawal of money deposited in the mobile banking account from the bank's ATM.
5. Transfer money from mobile banking account to bank account and transfer money from bank account to mobile banking account.
. Payment facility for goods and services of designated shops and service providers.
. Receipt of remittances from relatives living outside the country.
There is also a facility for the account holder to view the status of his account, mini statement.
How are mobile banking activities conducted?
The scheduled banks do this business with a license from the central bank of the country 'Bangladesh Bank'. For this they have to enter into agreements with mobile companies. Banks conduct branchless mini-banking activities through their own software using a wide network of mobile operators across the country.
This business is conducted with the involvement of many parties. E.g.,
A) The parent company. Namely, bKash, mCash etc.
B) Mobile companies.
C) Distributor.
D) Agent.
E) Customer and account holder. Also included,
F) Various product sellers and service sellers who are called merchants.
G) Different agreement with the concerned party for receiving remittances.
The main work
The information given on the web sites of the mobile banking companies and their leaflets have been read. Talks have been held with various agents and senior mobile phone officers and bank officials. Seeing and hearing everything, it has become clear that this activity was started with the intention of providing some banking services to the people living in rural areas. And of all the services offered through mobile banking, remittances from one place to another are at the top of the list. In mobile banking terminology it is called send money and cash out. In other words, the current alternative to telegraphic transfer (TT) of the bank and money order of the postal department is mobile banking.
Shariah analysis
Let us now examine the current activities of mobile banking from a jurisprudential point of view.
Account opened
One has to have an account to avail the mobile banking facilities, any person can open this account by going to the agents of the company and filling up the prescribed form. (Even if you do not have your own account for sending and receiving money, it can be done through agents.) We have read the account opening forms and rules of several companies including bKash, Dutch-Bangla Bank Mobile Banking, MCash. They did not seem to have any fundamentally anti-Sharia conditions. However, the condition that the company will have the sole right to change the rules in the future is not consistent with the ‘Alizara’ policy of Shariah; Rather, it is the rule of the Shari'ah to do so with the consent of both parties. Article 11 of the Terms printed on the other page of bKash's account form states, "bKash reserves the right to modify, develop and change existing rules in any way at any time without prior notice or advertisement to the customer." What does Bangladesh Bank approve? An agreement means that more than one party is involved. It is not at all fair for one party to enjoy such absolute rights there. The issue could be that if at any time the rules need to be changed or amended, it will be published in various media and messages will be sent to the customer's mobile.
However, since an account holder can close his account at any time without any cost, it does not seem illegal to open an account due to the above conditions.
Section 6 of the bKash form states, “Funds deposited as customer will be considered as security deposit. BKASH reserves the right to use the funds to take necessary action without prior notice if the pledges and / or obligations made to BKASH are not fulfilled or properly fulfilled. ” In fact, it is not a mortgage. Because ‘mortgage’ is for the security of a lien / debtor, but in this case the opposite is true. The account holder's money is deposited with the company instead. The company owes him nothing. This may, if applicable, coincide with the masala of ‘Azfar Bill Haq’ in Islamic jurisprudence.
Article 13 of the terms of the bKash states, "bKash reserves the right to pay or not to pay any kind of interest on the money deposited in the bKash account." So if you ever pay interest to a mobile account holder in the future, you will not use it at all - you have to keep in mind while signing the resolution form.
An additional condition for agents was seen in the promotional leaflet of Islami Bank's mCash. That is, the agent has to make an FDR of Rs. 25,000 / - in Islami Bank. On which he will be given a profit. This is an absolutely unnecessary condition. Where other companies are not taking any security, why is MCash taking security? And Islamic banks have not become so committed to Shariah compliance that they will guarantee people halal profits. In general, since there is an opportunity to deposit a small amount of money in a mobile account, there is no need to involve interest or profit on it. InshaAllah we will discuss more about this in the future.
Cashin
After opening a mobile account, the customer can deposit money in their account through an agent. Some mobile banking companies also offer the facility of transferring the mobile account from there if the customer has an account in their bank. These facilities are free or at a minimum (flat rate) fee (Rs. 5/10). Therefore, it does not seem to have any legal problem.
Send money
A mobile account holder can send a specified amount of money from his account to another account holder. This is called send money. This facility is given at a flat rate of 2/5 rupees. There is no legal problem in this too.
Cash out
This is the most widely used facility of mobile banking. Withdrawing money from one's own account or to an agent is most common through mobile banking. And the sad truth is that mobile banking companies charge a lot more for this service. In this case their charge is 1.75% i.e. one taka eighty five paise for every 100 taka. And 16.50 rupees per thousand.
After paying the prescribed commission from this money to the concerned agent, distributor, mobile operator, the rest is received by the company i.e. the bank.
According to Islamic jurisprudence, it is included in Al-Ijarah. In this case the depositor / withdrawer is the labor / service recipient or ‘Mustajir’. And the agent is the labor / service provider who is called ‘Azir’ (representative of the original ‘Azir’ in the case discussed). At one time the money order of the postal department was also analyzed in this way by the then ulama Keram. The basic conditions of Al-Jazeera can be found to be justified, but there are a few things to say. E.g .:
1. The current charge of cash out is higher than the overall consideration. Since the company does not have to pay any money on its own at any stage; Instead, distributors, agents and customers have a lot of money at different levels, so the charge for this service should be less. Due to the large number of service recipients in populous Bangladesh, even if a small charge is taken, it will come together and turn into a large sum of money. We think that the government controlling institution Bangladesh Bank should also pay attention to this.
2. Under the current rules, the charge will increase at the same rate as the money increases. It is necessary to set a minimum and a maximum limit by correcting it. Because even if the amount of money increases, the service is the same. According to the current rules, if an expatriate sends one lakh rupees to his / her mobile account, he / she will have to pay Rs. 1650 / - to cash out the money. Which is certainly oppression.
3. There are allegations that some agents keep more than the prescribed rate in case of cash out. It is widely heard that instead of 16.50 rupees per thousand, 20 / - rupees should be kept. Some even take more than that. This will not be permissible at all. Remember, agents are the labor / service representative (lawyer) of the mobile banking company. They do not have the right to charge more than the company charges.
This will be the case even in the case of taking extra charge as prescribed by the officer at the counter of the bank, such as bribery or bribery. Companies need to be vigilant so that the general public is not harmed by any of their agents.
4. Some people also do business by personal account. It is prohibited by law. You have to refrain from doing so.
5. And the rate of cash out from ATM is 20 rupees per thousand. But there is no intermediary between the agent or the distributor.
All you have to do is link the ATM to the mobile banking software. In this age of information technology, there doesn't seem to be a need to explain how much it is wrong to charge 2% to withdraw money from an ATM. Maybe bKash has taken this strategy with the intention of expanding the business with the benefit of its agents / distributors. But will the interests of the customers be neglected? In this case, the charge should not be more than 5/10 rupees. The charges of Dutch-Bangla Bank in this case are less and reasonable now.
Mobile recharge
Mobile banking companies also offer customers the opportunity to recharge their mobile phones through their respective accounts. There is no additional fee for this. However, they certainly get commissions from mobile operators. There is no problem in the eyes of the law.
Remittance acceptance
Another service is to accept remittances from abroad into mobile accounts. In case of remittance, you do not have to pay extra money but in case of withdrawal, the entire cash out fee has to be paid to the customer. It has already been said that at present it is 16.50 rupees per thousand and 1850 rupees per lakh. It is an unjust interference in people's hard earned money. However, if a customer accepts remittance through mobile account, it will not be illegal.
Payment
Mobile banking companies are now giving customers the opportunity to pay for goods and services purchased from different places through their respective accounts. There is no extra charge from the customer for this. The seller or service provider is called a 'merchant'. They have a merchant account just like the customer's mobile account and the agent / distributor's account. The company receives commission from the merchant.
It can be compared to debit card and prepaid card payments. Basically it is permissible. But one thing is noticeable. That is, although externally these services relieve people from the hassle of carrying cash, banks have discovered the benefits of debit cards, credit cards, payments from mobile accounts, etc. for their benefit. Through these, the banks share the profits of the merchants. There are commissions at different rates. Which is obvious mediocrity. This is because modern merchants increase the price of their products / services keeping in mind these commissions and charges. The average consumer has to pay the price. Islam discourages such intermediaries.
A customer with a mobile account currently receives the above services.
Contextual interest
It is learned that Bangladesh Bank may issue instructions to the mobile banking companies to treat the customer's account as a savings account and pay interest on the account balance. Doing so would be a very sad and reprehensible act. It is important to realize that people do not have a mobile account for depositing money or for interest / profit. Here he has money to send to his relatives if necessary or to be used. Many devout Muslim customers, agents and distributors are involved in mobile banking. It can never be desirable to associate them with an inferior haram like usury.