Knesset plenum approved: bank customers who wish to move to a new bank to refrain from replacing their old checks

n line for competition in the Israeli banking system. The Knesset plenum approved on second and third reading the Check Clearing Bill, which will allow bank customers who wish to move to a new bank to refrain from replacing their old checks.
In recent weeks, there have been question marks over whether the law will be approved, in light of the dissolution of the government and the dissolution of the Knesset. This was the last obstacle to the launch of a significant reform of the banking system - the 'mobility between banks in a click' reform, which will take effect this September.

As part of the mobility reform, starting this September, customers who want to move to a new bank will only have to give a transfer order to the new bank and all their banking activities will be transferred with them automatically including salary, credit cards, standing orders, checks, foreign exchange and securities portfolio.
Without the approval of the Check Mobility Act, the reform would have been delayed as the banks were not prepared for partial mobilization.
Today, only 2.5% of the banks' customers make transfers between banks every year, with one of the main barriers being bureaucratic: the fear of the awkwardness of transferring all banking activity to the new bank. The ability to perform the transfer in a simple manner when all banking activity is automatically transferred to the new bank should remove a competitive barrier and encourage competition in the banking system.
Towards the end of the year, the first digital bank (under construction) owned by Prof. Amnon Shashua and managed by Gal Bar-De'a is expected to be launched. In September 2019, the Bank received a license from the Bank of Israel, with the aim of producing, for the first time in over 40 years, an alternative to traditional banks.
According to Roi Katzir, VP of Marketing and Sales at the First Digital Bank: "With the approval of the Check Mobility Law, the last obstacle to the introduction of the click mobility reform was removed, which will allow bank customers who want a competitive alternative to move easily and quickly between banks. The Israeli public is used to thinking that for banks it is complicated, but even today the reality is completely different, it is even really easy and with the reform it will be even easier. "