2. Islamic Banking

It is safe to assume almost all of us have DBS/POSB accounts. I’m not dissing them or anything. DBS/POSB is a really good and accessible bank. Their ATMs probably outnumber all other banks in Singapore combined. It’s so easy to find. I even use it myself! But I’m sure all of you are aware, Commercial Banks like DBS/POSB offers interest on your saving. So, what do you do? Do you spend that interest money? Eppp. Naughty boys and girls. Interest is Haram FOR YOUR INFORMATION. By right you shouldn’t accept it or pay it. It is a concept heavily frowned upon by our religion. Do you want to know more? Google it.

You can do what you want to settle the issue. It is up to you. If you use the money, I can only advise you to stop. In the end, it is between you and Allah. But what I can also do, is offer solutions. Let’s start with what my parents do. They have POSB accounts, as do many others. When the interest banks in, my parents would withdraw that interest money and get rid of it. How? Well, however you please. You can throw it away if you want. You can donate it? If I’m not mistaken charity is a legitimate way to get rid of interest. I’m not entirely sure. What I know is that it is Haram to eat from interest money. Hence, some mosques in Singapore has a special interest donation box to dump you interest money in. This money will then be used to upgrade sidewalks or something and will not be given to the poor to eat. Honestly, I have never seen such donation boxes in mosques. Or maybe I’m just blind. Who knows. You can correct me if I’m wrong.

What I do is a little different from my parents. I use my POSB savings account as a current account for my monthly expenses which I will regularly withdraw from oh-so-convenient DBS/POSB ATMs. I do not leave my saving in my POSB account. Instead, I opened an Islamic Banking account which has no interest to keep my savings. So, the main point of my rant is: THERE ARE ISLAMIC BANKS IN SINGAPORE. As of 2017, there are 2 Islamic Banks which I know of, one of which I have a savings account with. There may be other small Islamic Banks hiding in Singapore which I am not aware of, but the 2 that I know are Maybank and CIMB. If you want to follow my footsteps and open an interest-free Islamic savings account, you can start your search with these 2 banks. Once again, Google it. Islamic Banks in Singapore are smaller, and their ATMs are less widespread. Which is why I still use my POSB account as my expenses account. At the end of every month, I will transfer my savings to my Islamic account for safekeeping.

Next Chapter...