Muslim Consumers’ Credit Card Debt Management

Mohd Afifie bin Mohd Alwi, Azwan bin Abdullah 
Faculty of Entrepreneurship and Business, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Malaysia
Azyanee binti Luqman 
Faculty of Business and Management, Universiti Teknologi MARA, Kelantan, Malaysia

DOI: https://doi.org/10.60016/majcafe.v30.06


Abstract

Due to the widespread usage of credit cards, excessive debt is almost inevitable, particularly among Muslim consumers. Therefore, this study explores the understanding of Muslim consumers towards credit card debt management from the Islamic perspective. Semi-structured interviews with 16 participants were used in this study to gather information for the exploratory analysis. Four themes were identified among Muslim users as the primary reasons for understanding the Maqasid Shariah (MS) in credit card (CC) debt management: convenience, emergency, benefit and social status. Furthermore, this study developed a prominent higher-order theme: the priority in credit card debt management. The study incorporates an understanding of respectability in credit card management that is consistent with Islamic teaching.

Keywords: redit cards, debt management, maqasid shariah, priority, themes