The Bank of Israel provides an update on the formulation of principles for a new service of transferring funds between accounts without having to use the beneficiary’s full account number.
The Bank of Israel completed its guidance of the process of formulating principles that will make it possible to make a payment from an account immediately, using an identifying detail (proxy). The process was completed within the framework of the Fast Payments team, together with bank and nonbank participants and Masav, the system operator. The goal of the uniform principles is to enable customers to make instant credit transfers and eventually also requests to pay, using an identifying detail, which is not the beneficiary’s account number, such as email address, mobile phone number, ID number, or number for tax purposes.
The formulation of the principles is another step in advancing Fast Payments in Israel, in accordance with the international standards and the related services generally accepted worldwide. The service of payment via an identifying detail is one of the most common services in Fast Payments systems worldwide, and it helps in avoiding inputting errors by customers and thus increases the efficiency and simplifies the payment process for them. The digital and advanced world of payments requires making adjustments in order to support rapid payments that can be used simply and with minimum effort by the end customer.
The principles include the types of identifying details with which it will be possible to execute transfers from accounts, while distinguishing between a private account and a business account. They also include the steps that the Fast Payments system participants need to carry out in order to support the service and make it accessible to their customers. The principles will be implemented uniformly by all payment service providers that are active in Masav’s Fast Payments system by the end of June 2024.
The Bank of Israel and the Payment and Settlement Systems Department will continue to advance the efficiency and stability of the payment systems in Israel, while placing an emphasis on compliance with international standards and milestones accepted worldwide for the various payment services.
Payment Systems Oversight Division Head Ms. Noa Sheshinski said, “This is a significant market change, the goal of which is to increase the efficiency of the accepted and traditional ways currently used for transferring funds from one account to another. Payment using an identifying detail is the first of additional related services that will enable system participants to offer advanced and innovative services to their customers. These services will markedly improve the customer experience in Israel and the range of payment options available for them.”