On October 23, 2018, lectures on “E-Banking Empowerment” will be held for senior citizens countrywide as part of the Ministry for Social Equality’s "Shlishi b'Shleikes" (“Tuesday in Suspenders”) program. Afterwards, in November–December, banks will invite senior citizens, by advance arrangement, to individualized training sessions at bank branches in order to experience e-banking services offered by the banks where they keep their accounts.
The goal of the activity is to help senior citizens adjust to e-banking and to give them tools to improve their skills in using e-banking services.
“E-Banking Empowerment” is an initiative of the Bank of Israel’s Banking Supervision Department, held in conjunction with the Ministry for Social Equality and implemented by means of the banking system and the Association of Banks in Israel.
The Minister for Social Equality, Gila Gamliel, said, “The Ministry for Social Equality is leading a digital revolution that will turn Israel into one of the world’s leading digital powers. Our challenge is to take care that the digital revolution does not adversely impact the services we provide to senior citizens. The joint initiative, together with the Banking Supervision Department, will provide senior citizens the tools necessary to continue managing their financial affairs in the digital age, so that they, as well as younger, will be able to benefit from innovative and accessible digital services. I commend the collaboration with the Bank of Israel, which has enlisted as a leading participant in the important national effort to reduce the digital gap.”
The Supervisor of Banks, Dr. Hedva Ber, said, “The banking system is in the midst of a revolution that includes switching to digital services alongside streamlining and downsizing branch activity. It’s a positive revolution that will allow senior citizens to save on bank fees and may absolve them of the need to visit the branch, with the bother that this involves. At the same time, it comes with difficulties for those who are unaccustomed to digital services.
“To help senior citizens adjust to e-banking and to offer them personal structured stewarding in order to familiarize them with basic e-banking services, the Banking Supervision Department has initiated an activity called “E-Banking Empowerment” for senior citizens.
“I urge senior citizens to take advantage of this opportunity and attend the lectures and the individualized training sessions at bank branches, which will give them a set of practical tools with which they can improve their skills in using e-banking services, help them adjust to e-banking, manage activity in their bank accounts on their own, and enjoy greater availability of banking services at lower cost.
“I thank the Ministry for Social Equality for its productive cooperation and commend the Association of Banks and the banking system for mobilizing fully for the success and promotion of this activity.”
The Bank of Israel’s Banking Supervision Department has been leading annual activities to enhance the financial awareness of various population groups in Israeli society, for purposes that include narrowing information gaps, improving economic welfare, enhancing the public’s awareness of its rights, and so on.
Thus, in September 2016, a “Financial Awareness Week” was held for households, in which thousands of customers visited dozens of bank branches from Dan to Eilat to attend lectures on proper financial conduct. In 2017, thousands of ninth-graders countrywide participated in a “Financial Awareness Month in the Education System” by taking classes to enhance their financial awareness. In 2018, the Israel Defense Forces assimilated, for the first time, courses on financial and banking education for soldiers in the Intelligence Corps. The courses give information about correct banking and financial conduct, tracking income and expenditure, basic concepts, managing a bank account, etc.
In addition, this year, realizing that the transition to digital consumption of banking services poses a challenge to population groups that find the adjustment difficult, the Banking Supervision Department, by means of the banking system and the Association of Banks in Israel, will offer an “E-Banking Empowerment” activity for senior citizens in order to help them adjust to digital banking and to give them tools with which to improve their skills in using these services.
The activity will take place in the following format:
Part 1—On October 23, 2018, a general lecture on “E-Banking Empowerment” will be given as part of the "Shlishi b'Shleikes" (Tuesday in Suspenders) program of the Ministry for Social Equality. In this program, senior citizens attend movies on Tuesdays (at a subsidized price of NIS 10). Shortly before the film begins and subject to prior registration, a lecture with extensive information about e-banking will be given. At the end of the lecture, senior citizens will be apprised of the second part of the activity: individualized training sessions at bank branches.
Part 2—To help senior citizens make the adjustment to e-banking and to familiarize them with basic e-banking services through structured and individualized stewarding, bank branches will host training activities in November–December (in a one-to-one or small-group format) on e-banking services offered by the bank where each customer keeps his or her accounts, including hands-on experience.
At these individualized training sessions, the following
matters will be covered, among others:
- Getting to know the bank’s web site;
- Learning how to use the bank’s mobile application;
- Digital monitoring of transactions in one’s bank account;
- Using Automated Teller Machines for banking operations: depositing cash, depositing checks, etc.
Importantly, all senior citizens, including those who do not participate in Part 1—the lectures in the "Shlishi b'Shleikes" program—may sign up for the training activities at the bank branches.
For further details about the “E-Banking Empowerment” activity, including where the lectures will be held, the hours of the activity, and how to sign up, visit http://digitalbanking.co.il/
contact the telephone call center at *8840 - extension 3, or search for “e-banking for senior citizens” on the Internet.