Amnon Amusement’s digital bank is piloting a limited number of customers

Will the banking map in Israel change in the coming years – and the bank in its long-standing old format will give way to digital banks, which will operate in the future without any branches around the country?

After 43 years in which no new bank has been established in Israel, the first digital bank begins to operate in Israel. The bank, which received an operating license from the Bank of Israel, is owned by Prof. Amnon Shashua, and today (Sunday) was its first day of operation, although for the time being only as a “pilot”, as part of a run for a closed group of customers.

The bank, run by Gal Bar-Dea and chaired by Shuki Oren – former Accountant General of the Ministry of Finance – received a license from the Bank of Israel in December 2019 and during an unprecedented global epidemic, managed to meet the business plan’s goals in a little over a year. 140 employees and build an entire bank with all the banking services, in accordance with the original schedules.

The first digital bank, an independent bank that is not one of the five banking groups, will for the first time offer an alternative to the traditional banking system. The bank was built on the basis of innovative technology based on artificial intelligence in accordance with Prof. Shashua’s vision, which is behind a series of ventures, including Mobilai, which was sold to Intel for $ 15 billion, Orcam and AI 21.

The bank will operate in a format that has not yet been recognized in Israel: it will have no branches at all, and its activities will be carried out through a combination of technology and human bankers, who will provide services around the clock – via chat and call center. This, in order to create a customized service experience for each customer, without waiting long minutes on the line or looking for parking for a meeting at the branch. The account opening process will be completely digital, without the need for a human representative and with immediate approval of a credit line.

The bank, which is already under the close supervision of the Supervisor of Banks similar to the other banks, will offer all the banking services available today in the banking system, including personal account, double account, loans, deposits, credit cards, securities, guarantees, standing orders and foreign exchange. Mortgages will also be offered later.

The bank signed an issuance and operation agreement for its credit cards with the Isracard Group in May last year. Last December, the Bank joined as a member of the stock exchange and will offer a platform for trading securities on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange and the leading stock exchanges in the United States.

During the third quarter of 2021, the bank will allow up to 1,000 customers to join the bank’s design ahead of its launch to the general public at the end of 2021. The bank has now also launched a website through which it will be possible to sign up for updates and waiting lists.

Prof. Amnon Shashua, Founder of the Digital Bank: “The artificial intelligence revolution is here, now it’s coming to banking. The banking system is thirsty for competition and innovation after freezing on the yeast for many years. The good news cannot come from the traditional system that carries a heavy weight of costs. We have built technology “A breakthrough in order to assimilate it in the global market in order to rebuild banking, for the benefit of customers.”

Shuki Oren, Chairman of the First Digital Bank: “The start of the Bank’s operations is a historic event that changes the market. After years, a new independent bank has emerged that will for the first time offer a truly competitive alternative and an innovative service experience that does not exist today. “Thanks to unprecedented support from the Bank of Israel and the encouragement of the Ministry of Finance that led, as part of the Strum reform, to the establishment of the Banking Computer Bureau, together with the reform of open banking and inter-bank mobility, we are going to change the face of banking in Israel.”

Gal Bar-De’a, CEO of the first digital bank: “The banking industry is one of the few industries that has not undergone a revolution. Big and old brands dominate the market with too little competition and offer exactly the same products. We will offer innovative banking, which will give people freedom from their worries around money. We have no intention of profiting from the lack of knowledge of our customers and we will do everything so that they will not be in the red and understand exactly what they are paying for. “

Meanwhile, the Bank of Israel and the Government ICT Authority in the National Digital Ministry have announced the launch of a new infrastructure for an open financial system – Open Finance, as part of the promotion of the “Open Banking” program.

According to the announcement, “the infrastructure will allow a third party provider (eg various financial service providers), to receive a customer’s personal financial information from a source of information (eg from the bank) in a simple, efficient and secure manner, for the purpose of providing value services to the customer based on this information.” The personal without disclosing the user’s details as done to date. “

For this purpose, the customer must agree that a third-party supplier will access his account and transfer to him the relevant information that the same financial entity holds for the customer. In the case of initiating payments – the customer’s consent is given to a third party to write a payment order for him, when the customer approves the payment account manager to execute the payment order.

According to the Bank of Israel, it will be possible to start issuing digital certificates that serve as an identification for the financial body as early as April 2021, after the Passover holiday, when an available government unit is prepared to begin issuances with the Bank of Israel.