Personal accounts: Israel

Updated 6 October 2026

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Israel is a high-tech economy with a developed banking system overseen by the Banking Supervision Department of the Bank of Israel. An Israeli bank account is needed by new immigrants, people working or doing business in Israel and property owners there. Israeli banks divide clients into residents and foreign residents, which determines both documents and how the account is opened.

Residents and foreign residents

• Israeli residents, including new immigrants with an Israeli identity card, open a regular account in shekels and foreign currency and can verify identity fully remotely.
• Foreign residents open a foreign resident account. Fully remote identity verification is not available to them, so a branch visit or verification through a bank's representative office is needed. A foreign resident signs a confidentiality waiver so the bank can pass account information to the tax authorities of the client's country.

Israel's foreign exchange controls have been substantially relaxed in recent years, so transfers between Israel and other countries need no special permits but are checked for purpose and source of funds.

A personal account for new immigrants and foreigners

A new immigrant opens a regular resident account after receiving an Israeli identity card, often fully online. A foreigner visiting Israel briefly or owning property there can open a foreign resident account after in-person verification. Such an account is convenient for receiving rent and paying property expenses.

Can you open an account in Israel without residence or a visit

Residence is not required: a foreigner opens a foreign resident account. But fully remote identity checks are available only to Israeli private clients, so a foreigner needs a branch visit or a check at the bank's representative office abroad, if there is one. A new immigrant with an Israeli identity card opens an ordinary resident account, often fully online.

Which banks accept foreigners

Large Israeli banks handle foreign residents by one scheme: an in-person check, a banking secrecy waiver and detailed questions about the source of funds. Smaller banks and those focused on private banking consider foreigners individually, especially for a home purchase or a large balance. The choice depends on the goal: receiving rent, paying apartment costs, transferring income or holding savings.

Documents for the account

How opening works

1. Status. We establish whether you are an Israeli resident or a foreign resident.
2. Bank. We choose a bank that works with your status and currency.
3. Visit. A foreign resident visits a branch for identity verification and signs the confidentiality waiver.
4. Access. We set up online banking and a card.

If the account is for buying a home in Israel, the bank will ask for the contract with the seller and proof of source of funds in advance, before the first large transfer, so prepare documents together with the contract.

Timelines and account costs

A resident account is opened in one visit or online, a foreign resident account after an in-person check, and the bank may hold the first large transfers for several weeks while it checks the source of funds. Israeli banks charge for account maintenance, branch transactions, foreign transfers and exchange. For private clients and small businesses the Bank of Israel approves a closed list of fees banks may charge, and banks publish their tariffs, so they are compared in advance. The account is usually opened in shekels, with dollar or euro accounts added for regular transfers to avoid exchange losses.

Tax data exchange

Israel takes part in the automatic exchange of financial account information, and a foreign resident signs a banking secrecy waiver so that the bank can report the account to their home tax authorities. From 2027 Israel also starts exchanging crypto-asset data under the new international standard.

Many countries that tax residents on worldwide income also require them to declare foreign accounts and the income on them, sometimes within weeks of opening the account. Check the rules of your country of tax residence before the first transfer: a missed notice usually costs more than the account itself.

Why applications are refused

• the source of funds is unproven;
• a foreign resident cannot visit a branch and the bank does not accept remote verification;
• the client has not signed the confidentiality waiver;
• links to sanctioned countries.

What we do

We choose a bank for your status, prepare documents and translations, arrange the branch visit and handle the application until the decision. A manager will calculate the cost in the chat.

This topic in other countries

• Account for non-residents: Cyprus
• Account for non-residents: Georgia
• Account for non-residents: Turkey
• Account for non-residents: Armenia
• Account for non-residents: Germany
• Account for non-residents: the USA
• Account for non-residents: Spain
• Account for non-residents: Portugal
• Account for non-residents: Uzbekistan
• Account for non-residents: Montenegro

For this country: moving to Israel, immigration to Israel, taxes in Israel, Tel Aviv guide.

All countries and bank requirements are in our overview of opening a bank account abroad in 2026.

What we do

• Personal account - opening assistance

See also

Company formation · Business account · Investment property · All country programs

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