Opening a Bank Account in Israel: What Olim and New Residents Need

Open the account in your first week. Your employer, landlord, the Ministry of Aliyah, Bituach Leumi and the health fund all want three numbers, the bank, branch and account, and nothing moves until you have them. The process is a short branch visit with the right documents, often started online, and the account is usable the same day. The first-month checklist puts it in order with everything else.

Choosing a bank

The big retail banks, Hapoalim, Leumi, Discount and Mizrahi-Tefahot, have branches across Jerusalem and English-speaking staff in the Anglo neighbourhoods; the digital banks and the large banks' app-only brands open accounts from the phone with lower fees and no branch. For a first account in a new country a branch with a named banker is worth the fee difference; move to a digital account later if you like. Olim get a package of fee waivers for a period at most banks; ask for it by name.

Documents

• Israeli ID (Teudat Zehut) with the appendix; new olim add the Teudat Oleh. Non-citizens bring a passport and the visa that allows the stay.
• Proof of address is sometimes asked for: the lease or an arnona bill.
• A local phone number for the codes and the app.
• US citizens: expect a W-9 and questions about US tax status under FATCA; other nationals sign a residency declaration. The bank will also ask what the money is for and where it comes from; answer plainly, it is compliance, not suspicion.
• An initial deposit is not always required, but arriving with some cash to deposit speeds things up.

What you get

• A current account in shekels (cheshbon osh), with an approved overdraft (minus) that Israelis treat as normal and you should treat as expensive.
• A foreign-currency account alongside it, useful for receiving transfers in dollars, pounds or euros and converting when the rate suits you.
• A card: a debit card immediately, and a credit card once the bank sees income; Israeli credit cards settle monthly and offer the instalment (tashlumim) option at every till.
• A chequebook, because rent is still often paid in post-dated cheques.
• The app, which handles transfers, standing orders, the foreign-currency account and most of what used to need a branch.

Paying and being paid

Salaries and benefits arrive by transfer; bills go out by standing order (horaat keva) or credit-card authorisation; rent goes by cheques or standing order; and everything between people, from splitting a bill to paying the babysitter, goes through Bit or PayBox, the free person-to-person apps linked to your card. A bank transfer (haavara bankait) needs the recipient's bank number, branch and account; keep yours in your phone's notes because you will type it weekly. Our bills guide covers the standing orders.

Money from abroad

Transfers in from a foreign account are routine but questioned: the bank may ask for the source of large sums and paperwork for property sales or inheritances. Wise and the specialist transfer services beat the banks on exchange rates for regular amounts; a SWIFT transfer to the foreign-currency account, converted on a good day, is the classic route for a large one. Interest on deposits is taxed at source.

Fees

Israeli banks charge for things that are free elsewhere: monthly account fees, per-transaction fees, cheque books, foreign-currency conversion spreads. Every bank must offer a basic low-fee track (maslul); ask for it, ask for the olim package, and check the first statement line by line. Overdraft interest is the expensive one.

Hebrew you will meet

• bank / snif — bank / branch
• cheshbon — account
• mispar cheshbon — account number
• horaat keva — standing order
• haavara — transfer
• minus — overdraft
• cheque / pinkas chekim — cheque / chequebook

More everyday words are in our Hebrew vocabulary guide.

Common questions

Can I open an Israeli bank account before I arrive?

Some banks let new olim start the application online through the aliyah organisations and finish it at a branch after landing; a fully remote opening is rare. Plan for a branch visit in the first week.

Which bank is best for olim in Israel?

Any of the large banks with an English-speaking branch near you, on the olim fee package; the differences are in service, not products. Digital-only accounts are cheaper once you know the system.

Do I need a chequebook?

Probably, for rent: many landlords still take twelve post-dated cheques. Ask for one when you open the account; it takes a few days to arrive.

What is Bit?

A free app from the banks for sending money between people by phone number; the whole country uses it for splitting bills, paying babysitters and buying second-hand goods.

A bank practice that has changed? Tell us and we will fix it.