Tuesday, February 6, 2007

Bay' Inah Concept

What is Bay' Inah? Bay' Inah, meaning sale with immediate repurchase, is a contract which involves the sale and buy back transaction of an asset by a seller. A seller will sell the asset to a buyer on a cash basis. The seller will immediately buy back the same asset on a deferred payment basis at a price that is higher than the cash price. It can also be applied when a seller sells the asset to a buyer on a deferred basis. The seller will later buy back the same asset on a cash basis at a price which is lower than the deferred price.

Saturday, February 3, 2007

Debit Card: The Better Alternative

Debit Cards, also known as Check Cards, is a special form ofcards that look to the merchant just like a Credit Card, bearing Visa Electron, VISA or MasterCard logo on them. This card is also can be use as an ATM card that allows you to withdraw money from ATMs (directly from your checking account) without incurring interest. Also, the purchases made are debited (thus the name) from your account instantly. Therefore there is no monthly statement, no interest, nothing.

Even though now there are 'Islamic Credit Card' in certain Muslim countries (e.g. Malaysia), this Debit Card card seems like a much better alternative to normal Credit Cards, offering all its services without the risk of interest and riba. One of the example of the Debit Card is 'Visa Check Card' from Visa.

However, there are a few points to consider:

* There maybe a small monthly sevice charge involved when you use the card (e.g. 1.5$ per month for large banks in the USA, only in months that you use the card in). Note that almost all cards in the USA have no annual fee, unlike other parts of the world (e.g. Middle East).

Apart from the above, the debit card is a very convenient way of avoiding the drawbacks of credit cards.

Why "i"?

Why “i”? Coz in financial world, the letter “i” synonim with “Islamic Banking”, or can also be related to Islamic finance. Then, it also can be translated into “infaq”, which means give. Because you give, and you shall receive.

In this blog i’ll review about Islamic financial tips and all about personal finance world.

Any comment, recommendation or suggestion are highly appreciated.