The Quick Answer
Walk into any Israeli high-street bank branch in your first week with your תעודת עולה (teudat oleh), your תעודת זהות (teudat zehut) (or the temporary airport slip), your home-country passport, and a Hebrew-language rental contract or utility bill. Ask for an account with the chavilat oleh (new-immigrant package). If your home country is the US, expect to sign IRS Form W-9 at the counter so the bank can report the account under FATCA5. The account number is usable the same day, debit card and PIN by post within roughly two weeks.
General information, not advice. This is general information, not tax, legal, or financial advice. Cross-border (US/UK) and Israeli rules interact in complex ways, and FATCA / FBAR penalties for US persons can be financially severe. Consult a qualified cross-border professional before acting on a specific account-opening or reporting decision.
Why your bank account comes first
Your Israeli current account, called a חשבון עובר ושב (Cheshbon Over VeShav), is your operating gear. Your סל קליטה (Sal Klita) absorption-basket installments are paid into it by Misrad HaKlita4. Your salary is deposited into it. Your rent, electricity, water, municipal property tax (arnona), kupat cholim health-fund top-ups, and kindergarten fees are pulled from it as recurring הוראת קבע (Hora'at Keva) standing orders. Almost no Israeli financial transaction routes through credit cards alone the way they do in the US or UK, so without a current account you cannot pay your landlord, receive your absorption installment, or sign a phone contract.
Documents to bring on day one
The bank teller is reading a checklist. The cleaner that checklist is when you sit down, the faster you walk out with a usable account number. The table below lists what every major Israeli bank asks for from a brand-new oleh at branch opening7. Items marked "helpful" are not strictly required on day one but accelerate the file.
| Document | Status | Note |
|---|---|---|
| Teudat oleh (תעודת עולה / new-immigrant certificate) | Required | Unlocks the chavilat oleh fee waiver. Issued at Ben Gurion airport or by Misrad HaKlita post-arrival. |
| Teudat zehut (תעודת זהות / national ID) or airport temporary slip | Required | The temporary slip from the airport is accepted in practice by every major high-street bank. |
| Home-country passport | Required | Used as primary photo ID alongside the teudat zehut. Dual citizens bring both passports. |
| Hebrew-language rental contract or utility bill | Required for primary address | If the lease is in English (e.g. short-term sublet), an English copy with a Hebrew utility bill works in practice. |
| IRS Form W-9 (US citizens / green-card holders only) | Required at the counter | The bank presents the form; you sign it on the spot. FATCA reporting begins from the first deposit. |
| Common Reporting Standard self-certification (UK / CA / SA / other non-US) | Required at the counter | Declares your country of tax residency for OECD-mandated cross-border reporting. |
| First Israeli employment offer or salary slip | Helpful | Accelerates credit-card and overdraft approval; not required to open the current account itself. |
| Most recent home-country bank statement | Helpful | Useful for foreign-currency wires inbound from your old account and as a reference if you negotiate a higher initial credit limit. |
If you arrived very recently and your teudat zehut card has not been issued yet, the temporary airport-issued sefach slip is accepted by almost every high-street branch in practice; it is the same number, just printed on paper instead of plastic. If you have neither - for example, you flew in alone ahead of your family without going through aliyah processing at the airport - branches usually require you to wait until Misrad HaPnim issues at least the temporary slip before opening the account.
Knowledge Check
Which document is the bank actually checking to qualify you for the oleh fee package?
The oleh-package fee waiver and how to actually get it
Every Israeli high-street bank offers a chavilat oleh (oleh package). The economic terms vary by bank and by branch manager, but the typical shape is a waiver of monthly account-maintenance and per-transaction fees for twelve to twenty-four months from aliyah, a small number of free international wires, free chequebooks, and a fee reduction on currency conversion2. The package is not added automatically. You must explicitly ask for it - in Hebrew, or by pointing at the words on a printed sheet.
The sentence to say, or to put in writing in your post-meeting email back to the banker confirming what was agreed: אני רוצה לפתוח חשבון עם חבילת עולה. אבקש את כל הפרטים, וכן את תאריך סיום ההטבות, בכתב, באימייל. (Translation: "I would like to open an account with the oleh package - please send me the full terms and the date the benefits end, in writing, by email.")
The reason this matters is enforcement. The Bank of Israel publishes consumer-rights guidance giving you the right to a written fee schedule (tarifon) and a clear statement of any time-limited promotional terms2. If the package terms are not in writing, you have no remedy when fees start appearing in month thirteen. Banks know this. Asking for the email is not rude; it is the answer that protects you.
What FATCA actually does at the counter for US-citizen olim
US citizens and green-card holders carry their US tax filing duty for life, regardless of where they live - this is one of the few countries in the world that taxes on citizenship rather than residency. Almost every new oleh from the US is blindsided that the duty does not end when they leave the US. At the Israeli counter, this surfaces as a single piece of paper: IRS Form W-9 (or, for some banks, the bank's own Self-Certification form referring to W-9 fields). The bank reports the account balance and interest income each year to the IRS5.
Separately, you - not the bank - file FBAR (FinCEN Form 114) each year when the aggregate balance of your non-US financial accounts exceeds $10,000 at any point in the year6. The Israeli account counts toward that aggregate from the day you open it. The form is filed online to FinCEN, not the IRS, and is separate from your income-tax return. The non-willful penalty for failing to file is severe; willful failure is worse. Open the account, sign the W-9, and put FBAR on your annual calendar.
UK, Canadian, South African, and other non-US olim are not in the FATCA regime. They sign a Common Reporting Standard self-certification instead, declaring their tax residency to the bank for OECD-mandated cross-border reporting. A US dual citizen (someone with both a US passport and a home-country passport) is still in FATCA, even if they entered Israel on the non-US passport.
Fees, even with the package, and the BOI switching rule
The package waives the recurring maintenance fee and most line-item commissions, but a few specific fees survive even inside the chavilat oleh: third-party ATM withdrawals at another bank, certain SWIFT international wires, and the currency-conversion spread that sits inside the FX rate on incoming USD/GBP/EUR transfers. Ranges in the table below reflect typical 2026 retail commissions for a current account inside a standard oleh package2. Specific amounts vary by bank and by branch.
| Fee item | Typical range (2026) | What it is |
|---|---|---|
| Monthly account maintenance (standard, post-package) | 10-30 ILS / month | Recurring fee for the current-account itself; waived inside the chavilat oleh. |
| In-network ATM cash withdrawal | Free (own-bank network) | Withdrawing from your own bank or its alliance network is free for retail customers. |
| Out-of-network (third-party) ATM withdrawal | 3-5 ILS per withdrawal | Charged even inside many oleh packages. Plan around it by withdrawing larger amounts less often. |
| Incoming SWIFT international wire (USD / GBP / EUR) | 0-50 ILS per wire | Many oleh packages waive a fixed number of inbound wires per year; beyond that quota a fee applies. |
| Currency-conversion spread on inbound USD / GBP / EUR | 1-3% above the mid-market rate | Embedded inside the FX rate on the wire. Hard to see on the statement; the only fee you cannot fully avoid through the package. |
| Paper monthly statement by post | 5-10 ILS / month | Switch to paperless in the app to remove this line entirely. |
| Switching to a different bank under BOI Directive 432 | Free | One online request through the receiving bank moves every standing order and direct debit at no charge. |
When your package expires - typically the first calendar month past the twelve-, eighteen-, or twenty-four-month mark, depending on what your written terms say - the standard tariff kicks in. You have two options. The first is a renegotiation conversation with your branch manager. The second is the Bank of Israel current-account switching service, established under Proper Conduct of Banking Business Directive 4323.
Directive 432 lets you submit one online request through your new bank, and they pull every active standing order, direct debit, salary deposit, and incoming wire instruction from your old bank within a few business days at no charge. You do not have to phone your landlord, your kupat cholim, your electricity company, your phone provider, and your gym to update bank details. Knowing this exists changes how you negotiate at month thirteen: switching is a real, available alternative, not a threat.
Frequently Asked Questions
Can I open an Israeli bank account before I make aliyah?
Not as an oleh account. A handful of Israeli banks operate remote-account services for prospective olim - typically in coordination with Nefesh B'Nefesh7 - which let you start the paperwork from abroad, but the account is not activated and the chavilat oleh fee waiver is not applied until you arrive and present your teudat oleh in person. If your aliyah date is more than three months out, the practical answer is to wait and open in your first week after landing.
Do I need a Hebrew speaker with me?
For most major banks, no. The two largest Israeli banks operate English-language service desks at branches in central Tel Aviv, Jerusalem, Modi'in, Ra'anana, Beit Shemesh, and Beersheba, and almost every banker under forty speaks usable English. Outside those areas, a Hebrew-speaking friend or your Nefesh B'Nefesh aliyah counsellor on speakerphone solves the document-walkthrough step. The legal documents you sign will still be in Hebrew - ask for the English summary sheet that BOI consumer-rights guidance requires the bank to provide on request2.
Is my new account safe? What deposit insurance applies?
Israeli banks are supervised by the Bank of Israel's Banking Supervision Department1 with prudential standards, capital requirements, and a resolution framework comparable to the US OCC or the UK PRA. Israel does not, however, run a formal retail deposit-insurance scheme analogous to US FDIC or UK FSCS coverage; the BOI's position is that the implicit sovereign guarantee plus prudential supervision have so far substituted for an explicit scheme. Practically, no retail depositor has lost a deposit in an Israeli bank in modern history, but the structural difference is worth knowing if you are choosing how much to keep in one institution.
Why is my new credit limit so low?
Your Israeli credit file starts empty8. The Bank of Israel's Credit Data System aggregates every Israeli loan, credit card, and overdraft you have ever held - and the day you land you have none. Your home-country credit score does not transfer. Banks therefore issue conservative initial credit-card limits (typically 2,000-5,000 ILS) and small overdraft facilities until you build twelve to eighteen months of on-time Israeli history. Salary deposits through the same account accelerate this materially.
What if the bank refuses to open an account?
Israeli law generally requires retail banks to provide basic banking services to anyone legally entitled to operate in Israel, and the Bank of Israel runs a public consumer complaint channel2 for refusals. Documented refusals after your teudat oleh is presented are unusual and worth escalating to the BOI's consumer division; the complaint number is on the BOI customer-service page. The most common practical friction is not refusal but document churn - the branch asks for one more paper, then one more - which the package-in-writing email rule above is designed to short-circuit.
How long after aliyah do I have to open the account before the oleh package expires?
The oleh-package clock starts at aliyah, not at account opening. Each month you wait to open the account is a month of waiver you forfeit. There is no formal deadline to use the package - if you open at month nine after aliyah on a twenty-four-month package, you get the remaining fifteen months - but in practical terms, opening in your first week captures the full benefit and avoids paying standard fees in the meantime. Misrad HaKlita absorption-basket installments also begin earlier when there is an account on file to receive them4.
Can I open a US dollar account alongside the shekel current account?
Yes. Israeli banks offer multi-currency current accounts as a standard feature, typically with USD, EUR, and GBP sub-accounts under the same master account number. Opening these sub-accounts at the same first-day meeting is essentially free; opening them later costs an extra branch visit but no money. The currency-conversion spread between sub-accounts and the shekel current account is the meaningful cost. For US-citizen olim, foreign- currency sub-accounts at the Israeli bank are still in the FATCA net and still in your FBAR aggregate6.
Next step
With the account open and the package terms in writing, the next decision is which bank suits your situation for the next five years. The differences live in English-service depth, mortgage-product breadth, and digital-app maturity - not in fees, which the package equalizes for the first year. Read the next article in this series to walk through the side-by-side comparison.
