Is working in a bank halal?

Because it moves the prohibition beyond the borrower and lender. Most prohibited transactions in Islamic law implicate the parties to them. The narration reported by Jabir explicitly names the scribe and the witnesses as sharing in it, which is why scholars examine whether a banking role involves documenting, recording, processing or attesting interest-based contracts. A job that consists of preparing and filing loan agreements is doing precisely what the narration describes, which is why those roles are treated most strictly.

No. Payment processing, domestic and international transfers, currency exchange settled on the spot, safe deposit, custody services and fee-based advisory are not lending at interest. Banks are diversified institutions, and an employee working entirely within the payments or custody side is engaged in a different activity from a mortgage underwriter. This is why scholars ask which product line you sit in rather than treating the whole institution as one undifferentiated thing.

This is where opinion genuinely divides, and the deciding factor is what the system does. Maintaining the network, the email infrastructure, the HR platform or the physical security systems is general technical work performed for a large employer. Building, maintaining or enhancing the core lending platform, the interest calculation engine, or the credit scoring model is contributing directly to the mechanics of the riba contract. The same job title covers both, so the title tells a scholar almost nothing.