A Shariah Review of Electronic Money Practices in Contemporary Online Transactions

Abstract

Electronic money or digital Money (e-money) is a payment issued based on the value of Money deposited in advance by the user to the issuer. Then the Money is stored electronically in a medium. Electronic Money can be used to make payments to merchants and often occurs in online buying and selling systems. The use of electronic Money that has become increasingly prevalent lately needs particular attention, whether its security is guaranteed, and of course, it is necessary to know how Islamic law views the use of Electronic Money. The author conducted a literature study and descriptive analysis approach to find that there is one more factor why the use of e-money has become a kind of trend, namely because the issuing party offers many attractive discounts. Many stalls, shops, outlets, markets, even food canteens are willing to be paid using e-money and offer deals or discounts that make everyone interested. But behind all that, it seems that some parties then questioned the discounts as being legal. If we examine it, it appears that this cashback discount is assumed to be a form of usury that is forbidden.