Ribā (interest) is categorically prohibited in Islam by clear and decisive texts of the Qur’an and Sunnah. Allah ﷻ says:

“Allah has permitted trade and has forbidden ribā.”
(Qur’an 2:275)

The prohibition applies not only to paying ribā but also to receiving it knowingly, even if one does not intend to benefit from it personally. The Prophet ﷺ cursed the one who consumes ribā, the one who pays it, the one who records it, and the two who witness it, and he said: “They are all the same.” (Sahih Muslim).

Therefore, it is not permissible to enter into an interest-bearing arrangement with the intention of later donating the interest as charity. One cannot purify a prohibited transaction by giving its proceeds away, because the act of agreeing to receive ribā itself is sinful.

However, scholars have made an important distinction in cases where avoiding interest is not realistically possible, such as when dealing with conventional banks for basic services in non-Muslim countries. In such cases, it is permitted to open a necessary account while not intending to earn interest. If interest is automatically credited and cannot be declined, the individual must dispose of it by giving it away to the poor or to public welfare causes without the intention of reward, as this is considered removal of unlawful wealth, not ṣadaqah.

The intention here is critical. One must not seek, calculate, or rely on the interest, nor choose the account because of the interest feature. Rather, one chooses the account due to necessity or strong need (such as global access), while disliking the ribā and removing it once it appears.