Question:
Is giving masser through a credit card permissible? The company is in essence “lending” you the money and you are in essence “paying” your debt to them with money of masser , and paying debts with masser is forbidden .
Answer:
It is permitted to give maaser and tzedakah through a credit card, and there is no issue of using maser to pay ones debts. The Taz Y:D 249-1, says that one may not use his maser money to pay his taxes, because a person’s maser money is meant to be given for the needs of poor people and not for personal obligations. When someone donates money to a tzedakah and instead of giving the money straight, he asks someone else to give the money in his name, and he will reimburse him for the money that he laid out, this is not a personal obligation that the person had and it is permitted.
