Switching Israeli Banks the Easy Way: The Nayadut Account-Mobility Reform

Can You Switch Israeli Banks Without Chasing Down Every Employer and Biller?

Yes, and that is the whole point of the reform almost no oleh knows exists. Since 22 September 2021, the Bank of Israel account-mobility reform (ניידות בנקאית nayadut bankaait, bank mobility) lets you move your current account to another bank online, at no cost, and within 7 business days. You apply at the new bank, it pulls your old account, and a "follow me" service automatically routes incoming payments and standing orders that still land at the old account to the new one for two years¹.

Here is the cross-border catch that traps newcomers. Back home, switching banks often meant weeks of manually redirecting your salary, your direct debits, and every recurring bill, then crossing your fingers that nothing bounced in the gap. So olim assume that escaping a bad first bank in Israel means that same painful chase, and they put it off for years. It is not that anymore. Israel built a one-click mobility system precisely so the banks do the redirecting for you. This article covers what actually moves, what does not, and the catch points for an oleh.

What Is the Nayadut Account-Mobility Reform?

It is a Bank of Israel and Ministry of Finance reform, live since 22 September 2021, that lets a customer switch their banking activity from one bank to another online, conveniently, at no cost, and within 7 business days¹. The system was built over several years with the banks and the Banking Settlement Center (MASAV) so that the switch and the redirection happen in the background rather than landing on you¹.

Two pieces make it different from the old days. First, you do not coordinate with your old bank at all: you apply at the newbank, and it requests the move on your behalf. Second, the "follow me" piece keeps your old account's incoming and outgoing traffic flowing to the new account for a transition period, so a payroll department or a biller that has not updated your details yet does not cause a missed payment¹.

How Does the "Follow Me" Service Work?

After your activity is switched and the old account is closed (to the extent any activity remains), credits and debits that still arrive at the old account are automatically forwarded to the new account¹. That forwarding runs for two years from the date of the switch, covering future shekel credits, future shekel debits, and checks, with narrow exceptions such as foreign-currency checks and bank-related checks¹. In practice this is the part that saves an oleh the most grief: your employer's salary run, your הוראת קבע (hora’at keva) to the electric or water company, and your direct debits keep working while everyone updates their records.

What Moves Automatically, and What Do You Still Handle Yourself?

Most everyday current-account activity is designed to move as part of the switch. The big exceptions are credit products and longer-term holdings, which need their own arrangements. Here is the split.

The headline for an oleh: your current account, its standing orders, your salary, and your cards are the easy part and the reform handles them. Your עמלה (amlah) savings come from landing on a cheaper account at the new bank, not from the switch itself. Credit and long-term products are the part that still needs your attention, one by one.

How Do You Switch Banks, Step by Step?

The flow is deliberately short, and you start it at the bank you are moving to, not the one you are leaving¹.

1. Apply at the NEW bank.Submit the switch request through the new bank's website or app (or at a branch). You are asking the new bank to bring your account over¹.
2. The new bank pulls your old account. The banks coordinate the move of your activity in the background through the central switching system¹.
3. The switch completes within 7 business days, at no cost, with the old account closed to the extent no activity remains¹.
4. "Follow me" runs for two years, routing stray incoming and outgoing traffic from the old account to the new one while everyone updates your details¹.

Worked Example: An Oleh Leaves a Branch With No English Service

Sarah made aliyah fourteen months ago and opened at the first branch near her absorption center. Her oleh-package fee waiver has now expired, her management fees jumped, and nobody at the branch handles English. She wants to move to a bank with English digital service without missing her salary or her rent standing order.

1. She chooses the new bank and applies online there. She does not call her old branch at all; the request goes in through the new bank¹.
2. The switch completes in 7 business days, free. Her current account, cards, and standing orders move; her old account is closed to the extent nothing is left¹.
3. "Follow me" covers the gap.Her US-employer salary wire and her landlord's standing order keep arriving even before everyone has her new number, routed automatically for up to two years¹.
4. She handles the leftovers herself. Her car loan stays with the original lender, so she arranges that separately, and she re-gives her new account details to the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration so her remaining Sal Klita payments are not interrupted³.

Note the contrast with home: in the US or UK, Sarah would have spent that fortnight emailing payroll and each biller herself and hoping nothing bounced. In Israel, the "follow me" service does that chasing for two years, which is exactly why she could leave the unhelpful branch without dreading a missed rent payment.

How Is This Different From Switching Banks Back Home?

What Are the Catch Points for an Oleh?

The reform is genuinely smooth, but a few things still need your attention. The first is that loans, mortgages, deposits, and savings do not move on their own: each needs an individual arrangement, and a mortgage normally stays with the original lender unless you deliberately refinance¹. The second is foreign-currency mechanics: foreign-currency checks and certain bank-related checks sit outside the automatic follow-me routing, which matters if you still receive a מטבע חוץ (matbea chutz) check or wire from abroad¹.

The third is your own paperwork. If you receive Sal Klita installments, give the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration your new account details so payments are not interrupted, because the Ministry pays into the account you registered with it, not whichever account "follow me" is shadowing³. And nothing about the switch changes your home-country obligations: check your reporting duties separately through the Bank of Israel consumer resources and your own country's rules².

Since 22 September 2021, the Bank of Israel account-mobility reform (nayadut bankaait) lets you switch your Israeli current account to another bank online, at no cost, and within 7 business days. You apply at the new bank, which pulls your old account for you, and a "follow me" service automatically routes incoming credits, debits, standing orders, and checks that still land at the old account to your new one for two years. Your current account, salary deposit, standing orders, shekel and foreign-currency balances, securities holdings, and payment cards move as part of the switch. Loans, mortgages, deposits, and savings do not move automatically and need separate, individual arrangements. There is no special olim track, and switching your Israeli account does not change your home-country reporting.