What is the ruling on the automatic withdrawal card known as Visa, which is used to withdraw money from one of the banks in the country one has traveled to?
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The questioner : His EminenceThe Shaykh : Regarding the ruling on the automatic withdrawal card known as Visa: some people, when they want to travel from their country to another, do not take cash with them to the country they are traveling to, but they carry this card with them, and they use it to withdraw money from one of the banks located in the country they are traveling to. What is the ruling on withdrawing in this manner?
The Shaykh : There is nothing wrong with it; that is, there is nothing wrong for a person to use the Visa, because it provides convenience. Instead of carrying money and fearing it might be stolen, one secures it by this method, and there is nothing wrong with this. One should know that the original ruling for all transactions is permissibility and lawfulness, except for what evidence has established as forbidden. If we are in doubt about whether it is forbidden or not, we return to the original ruling, which is permissibility.
The Shaykh : There is nothing wrong with it; that is, there is nothing wrong for a person to use the Visa, because it provides convenience. Instead of carrying money and fearing it might be stolen, one secures it by this method, and there is nothing wrong with this. One should know that the original ruling for all transactions is permissibility and lawfulness, except for what evidence has established as forbidden. If we are in doubt about whether it is forbidden or not, we return to the original ruling, which is permissibility.