Offices of the Bank of Israel​

​According to the Bank of Israel Law, these are the entities that can open an account at the Bank of Israel:

1.The Government;
2. A "financial entity" as defined in the Bank of Israel Law, including a banking corporation;
3. Central Banks, Monetary Authorities and Foreign Banks, as decided by the Governor and with the approval of the Monetary Committee.
Customers and private entities in the State of Israel cannot maintain a bank account with the Bank of Israel.

The Banking and Financial Services Unit in the Accounting Division of the Bank of Israel manages its activities in shekel and foreign currencies accounts for the Government and its Independent Subsidiary Units, and provides banking services to the Government.

In addition, the banking corporations in Israel manage in the Bank of Israel current accounts and loans and deposits of various types - in shekels and in foreign currencies. Various financial entities also receive banking services from the Bank of Israel.

1. Current account management - Ongoing banking management of banking activity in accounts, including monitoring and control;

2. Foreign currency transfers to beneficiaries in Israel and abroad for the various customers of the Bank of Israel;

3. Transfers in shekels through the various clearing houses - the Banks' Paper-Based (Cheques) Clearing House; the Banks' Automated Clearing House ("MASAV") and the "ZAHAV" (RTGS) system Clearing House;

4. Payments and receipts in NIS and foreign currency to the customers of the Bank through physical Cheques;

5. The purchase and the sale of banknotes in shekels and foreign currency for the various customers of the Bank and in cooperation with the Bank's Currency Department;

6. The production of daily account statements, balance confirmations for the customers of the bank and various reports;

​The unit provides banking services to central banks and to foreign financial entities abroad in accordance with section 50 of the Bank of Israel Law: "The Bank may maintain accounts for banking corporations and other financial entities, and, at the decision of the Governor, with the approval of the Committee, for central banks, monetary authorities and foreign banks, all under terms and conditions to be determined by the Governor, including the collection of management fees and commissions or other fees and commissions".​

​Similar to commercial banks in Israel, the Banking and Financial Services Unit represents the Bank of Israel and its customers as a participant in the payment and clearing systems in Israel. Following are the various types of the clearing houses:

The “MASAV” Clearing House - an entity in which the non-paper or cash interbank transactions are settled. Non-bank institutions and/or organizations also transfer authorized credit and debit instructions by directly to “MASAV”. 

The Cheques Clearing House - most of the receivables (Cheques and credits and various debits and charges) presented by the banks in the Paper-Based Clearing House are Cheques, which are presented today only by electronic means. In addition, magnetized collection vouchers and non-magnetized receivables (manual receivables) are presented. 

The “ZAHAV” Clearing House ​(Real-Time Gross Settlement - RTGS) – The “ZAHAV” Clearing House is a payment system that allows immediate and final transfer of funds between customers of banks and customers at other banks. In addition, in this system, the final clearing of all existing interbank payment systems is carried out, i.e.: the TASE Clearing House, “MASAV” and the Cheques Clearing House.

As part of the representation of the Bank of Israel, the Banking and Financial Services Unit is responsible for clearing payments on behalf of the customers of the Bank and for the activities of the Bank, it is backing up the customers of the Bank and the divisions of the Bank in the case of a state of emergency and it is the participating in the various interbank committees.​

​n Israel, the identification of participants in the financial system is performed by using a unique identification code for each entity (known as a "bank code"). The identification number allows payment service providers to operate in the payment systems and to serve the customers of the payment service providers, as part of their account identification details, for the purpose of making payments. As part of the process of opening the payment systems for non-banking participants, the Bank of Israel has decided that the identification code will be assigned to all banking and non-banking payment service providers who meet the underlying guide lines and conditions for obtaining an identification code.

The responsibility for assigning the Bank Code lies within the collaboration of the Payment Systems Supervision Unit with the Banking and Financial Services Unit at the Bank of Israel.

For more information please click here​

​As part of the unit's activities as a banker for the Government and other customers of the Bank, the Bank of Israel is required to perform risk management. The risk components may contain various operational and business risks. In recent years, there has been a trend of increased controls and regulations in the global financial system, which is manifested in more cases of inquiries and stoppages of payments in global operations towards banks in Israel and abroad. Therefore, in order to ensure continued business continuity of the activities of the customers of the Bank, the Banking and financial Services Unit at the Bank of Israel is also required to implement a risk-based approach.