What is the ruling on depositing money in banks that do not pay riba? And the danger of calling riba "interest"

The questioner : The Shaykh : The honorable one, is it permissible? This may have been answered, but I wrote it down, and by Allah, is it permissible to deposit in the banks in our country? There are banks with a section that pays interest and a section that does not pay interest, meaning the same bank. Here there is interest, and here I, as a Muslim, save money that has no interest. Is there any harm in that?

The Shaykh : The first issue is clear, but as for the other one, the one that does not pay interest, one must look into it. Does the one who deposits his money pay anything?

The questioner : He does not pay.

The Shaykh : He does not pay. The one who deposits his money in the section that does not pay interest?

The questioner : No. It is merely a trust.

The Shaykh : It is merely a trust. Does the bank use this money, or is it actually a trust in a safe? I do not think so, I do not think so, but I know that in some large banks there are safes called trust safes. However, the one who deposits his money in one of these safes pays a fee. The depositor of the money, instead of taking what they also call— and I ask for your attention— I want our Muslim brothers, especially the Salafis who follow the methodology of the righteous predecessors, not to utter the word "interest," because this term is also a foreign, Western word translated into the Arabic language as "interest," and its name in the language of the Noble Qur'an is riba. Therefore, I hope that this term does not run on your tongues, but rather that you revive that term which the disbelievers and open sinners who do not prohibit or permit have killed. So let us use the word riba instead of interest. You mentioned that there is a bank that pays riba in exchange for the money deposited in it, and another section that does not pay riba. If the bank uses this money and it is a usurious bank, then here comes the saying of him (peace and blessings be upon him): So here there are two men, Zayd and 'Umar. Zayd deposits his money in the bank that pays riba; it is clear that this is forbidden. 'Umar deposits his money in the bank that does not pay riba. Many people assume that this is permissible, but they forgot that the Prophet (peace and blessings be upon him) did not only prohibit the usurer from eating riba, but he also prohibited the one who gives his money to the usurer so that he may deal in riba with it. So here the previous hadith applies: So dealing with both banks here is not permissible. But there is a third section; there are trust safes where money is deposited in this safe, as we have been informed, and I believe this report is correct due to its mass transmission. This safe has two keys. One key is taken by the depositor, and one key remains with the specialized employee at the bank. This money deposited in it is not touched by the hand of riba. When the owner of the money wants to take something from it, he goes to the bank, brings his key, the employee comes and opens it, and he takes what he wishes from it, then closes it, and the hand of riba does not reach it. But this, like any work done by any person in exchange for a fee, is lawful. This type is the way out for some transactions that wealthy Muslims are afflicted with. But I admit that this does not solve their commercial problem, because their problem is that they must have in the bank what do they call this?

Another questioner : The current account.

The Shaykh : The current account, yes. But the end does not justify the means. Legally, the end does not justify the means. So it is possible to rent a safe from one of these banks and pay a monthly or annual fee according to agreement. This is the only way out. And the answer to those who say, "Teacher, we fear for our money from thieves, we fear such and such"— a statement we hear often— the answer is: First, regarding the believer, Second, our Lord does not prohibit His servants from taking measures of protection, whatever the types of these protections may be, if these means are lawful. And this is the lawful means, which is renting a safe from the bank to deposit the money that the wealthy person fears the thieves will rob. So this is the answer to what you asked last.