For years, Israeli Banks have had their apps, websites, and customer service in Hebrew. As an anglo living in Israel, I have gotten used to banking in Hebrew. With that being said, there is a big convenience factor to be able to check your bank and perform actions in your native language. In addition, there are plenty of expats in Israel who do not have fluent hebrew. That is why this post is helpful!
Bank Leumi App
Recently, they announced that their app is going to be available in English (as well as Hebrew). This should be added to the existing app via a software update (iOS, Android)
To switch languages: Go to Settings הגדרות (bottom left of the screen) >> select Language שפה >> select English >> Choose Switch to English in the pop-up message >> The app will log out >> when you log back in the app will be presented in English
Currently, the statement that Leumi is the only Israel Banking app with an english interface is true. We are waiting for the day that other banks catch up!
Bank Hapoalim Site
For existing bank hapoalim customers, you can now bank in english on their site without using google translate.
Go to: https://bankhapoalim.com/
Then click login and it will redirect you to their .co.il site to login and then the interface magically changes to english!!!
This is amazing
Note that their app is only offered in Hebrew, in addition the english site not having all of the features that the Hebrew site features.
Discount Bank/Mercantile Site
Alternatively, many people have confirmed that Mercantile (Discount) Bank also has an english, french, russian, and arabic web interface if you do not want to bank with Hapoalim.
Mizrahi Tefahot Site
There is a language picker on the website which brings you to this URL, the interface looks modern and is in English!
Bank Jerusalem Site
Using the language picker, you can access their english site:
Honorable Mentions:
Bank Leumi Site
They have an english version of their website, but it is dated/old and not all the banking actions are supported:
Pagi/First International Bank of Israel (הבנק הבינלאומי) Site
You can bank in english/russian also via their dated/old version of their site with the same issues that Leumi has
They are known to have a lot of transaction fees, the english version of their website is also outdated.
Mobile Payment Apps
Paybox, a popular venmo-like app (Owned by Discount Bank) used to have their app in english but they decided to remove that option. Bit, an alternative offering (owned by Bank Hapoalim).
On the subject, we have Pepper Pay (owned by Leumi Bank), the app and site are only in Hebrew and US citizens cannot use it due to financial regulations.
Banks not in English
Alternative solution
If you use Google Chrome on your computer and/or your phone, you can right click on the website (not on an image) and click "Translate to English". It uses google translate to give you an interactive version of the website in English. This works most of the time, and there are some translation errors. But, if your bank doesn't offer an english version it's better than nothing.
On your phone, open the site in google chrome and click on the menu on the top right corner (3 dots). Now find the "Translate" button. There should be a popup from Google translate which lets you pick a language and translates the site for you.
If you have yet to make a bank account, make sure to A) find how many branches and ATMS are in your city or general area, B) that the bank has reasonable rates and low or no fees, C) and do your normal due diligence.
Let us know if your bank also supports other languages so we can add it!
Disclaimer: This list is not financial advice, I am not a financial advisor. This list may not be an exhaustive list of banks.
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