The Banking Supervision Department urges the public to reduce the costs of managing their accounts, by using the annual report—“Banking ID Card”—that will be sent to bank customers by the banking corporations.

 

The “Banking ID Card” is a concentrated report presenting the customer with all the activity conducted in the account, in a clear, direct and easy to compare form. The Banking ID Card is sent to all customers (individuals and small businesses) once yearly on February 28, through their online account on their bank’s website or through the mail (in accordance with each customer’s main means of communication with the bank). The report will be available at the online account on the bank’s website for 3 years. Likewise, a Banking ID Card may be requested at any time during the year, and through it to receive up to date account information.

Supervisor of Banks Dr. Hedva Ber said, “Ahead of the yearly report being sent to bank customers, I urge the public to utilize the opportunity and make informed use of this important report. The report is written simply and in an identical format by all the banks, and can help every customer—household and small business—understand their overall financial situation, see how much they paid in fees and in interest on all their bank account activity during the year, and to act to reduce costs through receiving a competing offer from competitor banks and negotiating with their existing bank.”

 

What information appears on the Banking ID card?

  • Assets in the customer’s account, including current account balances, deposits and savings.
  • Liabilities, such as loans and credit facilities.
  •  Total fees paid by the customer.
  •  Additional details such as standing bank orders and powers of attorney in the account.
  •  If the customer is interested in examining the account activity more extensively, then in addition to the short-form report there is also a more detailed report.

 

How will the Banking ID card help the customer?

 With the Banking ID card, the customer can:

  •  Keep track of the account, manage it more easily, and in a more informed way.
  • Get to know the banking products that exist in the account, how much was paid for them, or the profit derived from them.
  • Compare the current terms of the customer’s account with proposals from other banks.  This comparison could lead customers to the conclusion that it pays for them to switch their account to another bank.
  • Save account management expenses.

 For tips for the optimal use of the reports (in Hebrew), click on the following link:

 http://www.boi.org.il/he/ConsumerInformation/ConsumerIssues/Pages/BankID.aspx

 

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