There are 260,000 online banking service users in Israel, according to research done by “Globes”. Moreover, Bank Hapoalim has a significant lead in the field.
The banks report substantial growth in the rate of clients subscribing to online services, particularly in recent months since Bank of Israel gave the go-ahead to Internet banking.
Six months ago, there were 120,000 users for online banking services, less than half the number of users today. It should be noted that the figures relate to the number of users subscribed to online banking services; it is possible that a portion do not use the service, despite having signed up.
Bank Hapoalim has 157,000 online service subscribers. Bank Leumi has 57,000; Israel Discount Bank – 31,000 and First International Bank – 30,000. In other words, Bank Hapoalim alone has more subscribers than the other three major banks combined. Mizrahi Bank refused to divulge figures regarding online banking service users but it may be assumed that the numbers are similar to those of other mid-sized banks.
In addition to the five major banks, the smaller commercial banks – Investec Clali, Mercantile and Union Bank – also offer online banking service to thousands of clients. Investec Clali is the only one to make use of its Internet banking service as a platform for bringing in new clients from other banks; in recent months, since its virtual bank went online, Investec Clali has gained 200 new clients a month, according to senior bank officials.
Bank Hapoalim said its research showed over 50% of Internet banking activities involved securities trading.
Bank of Israel is due to approve online bill payments, along with transfers from account to account via Internet. After these services are approved, the banks believe, subscription rates will increase.
Published by Israel's Business Arena on March 12, 2000.