Ribbis: Matters of Interest

ASKING
THE BORROWER TO CASH A CHECK

A person asks his friend for a loan. His friend agrees to lend him
money, but since he only has a check, he tells him to cash the check, borrow
the amount he needs, and return the rest.

A fellow asks his friend for a loan. The would-be lender claims he
has no money, but gives the borrower some merchandise to sell with the right to
borrow the requested amount from the sale.

The lender asks the borrower to mail his payment every month. This
requires the borrower paying the additional cost of a stamp.

Do any of these cases involve ribbis?

In
case #1 the borrower is allowed to cash the check if no great effort is
involved. However, if the check requires that he go to the bank, such as a
check for a small amount which most check-cashing stations will not accept, the
lender would be transgressing ribbis mukdemes
since he is forcing the borrower to go to the bank on his behalf.

Case
#2 would definitely be considered ribbis mukdemes due
to the tirchah, and therefore prohibited,
unless the lender pays the borrower for the tirchah of
selling the merchandise on his behalf. Alternatively, if the lender accepted
full responsibility for the merchandise if damaged or lost, it would be
permitted even without reimbursement for tirchah.

Case #3 is permitted, as is any tirchah the borrower has to go through to pay back the loan. Borrowing money requires that one assure the money is repaid, even if it involves the cost of traveling to the lender’s house to repay him, or for the postage on the payment envelope.