i tried asking Google why loans have interest. it gave me a single answer that doesn't really explain anything and then a bunch of pages about interest rates.

i know that muslims do a workaround for usury where a one-time "administrative" fee is charged instead of interest.

i was just wondering what would happen if we dropped bank loans altogether and borrowed interest-free straight from the central bank instead.

sounds like it would be possible in today's world. just visit a website to apply.

since they're affiliated with the state, they don't need to turn a profit. everybody is borrowing from them anyway. all money is credit from the central bank, and it's not clear to me why it even needs to be profitable.

interest rates are currently used by the central banks to control inflation, but there are other ways of controlling the supply.

anyway, this is just me speculating and i was hoping to find an article by an economist that answered the question.