At the request of the Banking Supervision Department, 200,000 senior citizens and citizens with disabilities have been moved to a low-cost fees track at the bank where they manage their accounts, and will save up to hundreds of shekels per year, with the total savings reaching NIS 36 million per year.
On September 1, 2016, a Banking Supervision Department directive came into effect requiring the banks at their own initiative to place the accounts of senior citizens and those with disabilities in the basic track service. This service costs NIS 10 per month, and includes 10 customer-executed transactions and one teller-executed transaction per month. The transition of these accounts is being done by the banks following a survey, through which the accounts for which such a transition is economically beneficial in terms of financial savings were identified.
A video clip explaining the fee tracks service is available here.
During the current survey, about 200,000 accounts were moved to the basic track service, which will save bank customers an aggregate NIS 36 million per year. The average fee savings due to the initiated transition is estimated to be between tens and hundreds of shekels per year for each account.
In accordance with the amendment initiated by the Banking Supervision Department, the banks will be required to carry out a new survey each year in March to locate additional accounts belonging to senior citizens and citizens with disabilities and to place them in the basic track service.
Supervisor of Banks Dr. Hedva Ber said, “We decided to intervene and to proactively assist senior citizens and those with disabilities in Israel—thereby saving NIS 36 million per year in payments for basic banking services for these two weaker population groups. I call on the other citizens of Israel and on small businesses to check with their banks whether it pays for them to move to the fee track initiated by the Banking Supervision Department, and thereby save tens to hundreds of shekels per year.”