Wednesday, March 31, 2010

Muslim MasterCard

An Islamic financial firm in Toronto is launching a new credit card for Muslims, called the iFreedom Plus Mastercard. It circumvents the Islamic religious proscription against paying interest.

holders load up their card with cash in advance, up to $6,000. Each purchase draws down on the account without accruing interest.
They make money on charging 95 cents per transaction, and from the membership fee of $50 for two years. Since it uses your own money in advance, there is no need for a credit check.

It may be targeted at Muslims, but it sounds like a pretty good idea that might appeal to a wider spectrum of people. It appears to be an improved version of a secured credit card. The fees are pretty low, and there's no interest. They should market it to everyone, not just Muslims. There are plenty of people out there with lousy credit that have trouble getting a regular card, and who  could probably benefit from this product.

3 comments:

  1. Why not just use a debit card? No transaction fee or annual fee.

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  2. You can't use a debit card for certain things, like renting cars.

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  3. I heard there are no transaction fees.. that is what was said on the Business News Network interview

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