Charging A Transaction Fee For EFT In Exchange For Cash

Firstly, the banks offer a service whereby we bank our funds with them with the intention of protecting our funds. For their services, they charge a monthly account fee, as well as a cash deposit fee and cash withdrawal fee. These fees are fixed and the client is informed of these fees when opening a new account. The clients are also informed of any change in charges whenever applicable.

We cannot base our transaction in question on the bank’s withdrawal fee and thereby legitimize the fee for the said transaction. In our scenario, Zaid tells Amr that he requires R100 000.00 cash which Amr has in his possession. Zaid in turn will EFT R100 000.00 into Amr’s account. This is tantamount to exchanging cash for cash which demands equality of cash on both sides. The only difference is that Zaid will physically take the cash in his hands and Amr will take possession of the cash through his banking account, hence the requirement of equality of funds on both sides must be maintained (i.e. 100k in lieu of 100k).

It will therefore not be correct for Amr to impose a fee of R10 000.00 for giving physical cash to Zaid (due to what we have explained above), else this will be tantamount to Riba/Usury. This is unlike the banking system where at no stage cash is exchanged in lieu of cash between the bank and their clients. They are simply saving funds for their clients and charging a fee for their services. To deposit and withdraw cash, one is required to go to a bank teller or ATM and utilize the banking facility to fulfil this need. This too is a service for which they are entitled to impose a charge.

In our scenario, none of these aspects are applicable; rather it is a matter of exchanging cash in lieu of cash, hence the difference in ruling between the two scenarios.