tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7976081.post4193489031155069158..comments2024-03-15T10:36:55.634+02:00Comments on Bat Aliyah: How To Bank (More) Like An IsraeliUnknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger14125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7976081.post-29642902107804110502015-12-07T05:24:49.269+02:002015-12-07T05:24:49.269+02:00Dear Mark from Haifa,
I bank with Bank Hapoalim in...Dear Mark from Haifa,<br />I bank with Bank Hapoalim in Jerusalem. I need a good banker for my international wire transfers. Any chance that you would be able to share the name of your banker? I will get an email for follow up comments. Thanks!Christellehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09283237081856042217noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7976081.post-37606086313503452482015-03-22T15:10:54.820+02:002015-03-22T15:10:54.820+02:00VERY IMPORTANT
"You can write a check with t...VERY IMPORTANT<br /><br />"You can write a check with the payee blank. Your check will be passed from hand-to-hand as cash until someone decides to deposit it." <br /><br />DO NOT DO THIS EVER!<br />When you write a check always write the name of the payee and make the check "lemutav bilvad". Even better you can ask to have your checks printed with this. That way no-one can ever try to talk you into giving them a nameless check. Why is this so important? Once the check is passed around, it can reach disreputable people and before you know it you have the mafia on your doorstep.<br /><br />Credit card: my cc is "chutz bankai", i.e. not from a bank, and I pay no charges on it. Once a month the balance comes out of my account.<br /><br />Some of these comments show a lack of personal financial management rather than a problem with Israeli banks. I recommend keeping an excel file which reflects expected income and expenses for the month, including their dates(including what you put on your credit card). The only surprises you should be getting are either a mistake on the part of the bank or hopefully an unexpected windfall. Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7976081.post-72970873092791377992014-10-30T11:49:22.804+02:002014-10-30T11:49:22.804+02:00Very helpful, thanks to everyone who contributed!Very helpful, thanks to everyone who contributed!the sabrahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/07134516234799909775noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7976081.post-30528648788365900992013-12-25T15:14:42.196+02:002013-12-25T15:14:42.196+02:00Great information. Thanks!Great information. Thanks!Meir Greennoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7976081.post-85016991453052696182013-07-23T23:57:46.390+03:002013-07-23T23:57:46.390+03:00Reuven,
Welcome home! Be sure to see this post ...Reuven,<br /><br /> Welcome home! Be sure to see this post as well: http://bataliyah.blogspot.co.il/2013/06/paradigm-shifts-for-americans-banking.htmlRivkah Lambert Adlerhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10600569049373231685noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7976081.post-22092729586377796582013-07-23T23:54:00.005+03:002013-07-23T23:54:00.005+03:00Many Many thanks.
I did my alyah a few days ago a...Many Many thanks.<br /><br />I did my alyah a few days ago and I've spent most of the evening trying to find a website, blog or anything that could help me choosing a bank and getting a good deal.<br /><br />This blog is the best information I got so far. Thank you.<br /><br />ReuvenAnonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7976081.post-59885253316637443582013-06-30T19:20:41.936+03:002013-06-30T19:20:41.936+03:00"When your credit card expires, they don'..."When your credit card expires, they don't mail a new one to you (or even send a notification). You need to know by yourself to go to the bank and pick it up."<br /><br />I was very surprised to read this, as it is certainly not true of my bank (Discount). In fact, I was rather alarmed at the fact that they simply mailed me my new card when the old one expired, since I had a neighbour who has been known to steal my mail.Anonymousnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7976081.post-63743563172337093232012-04-18T17:33:36.527+03:002012-04-18T17:33:36.527+03:00Rachel, I know flyertalk has a list of cards with ...Rachel, I know flyertalk has a list of cards with no foreign transaction or ATM fees, but which ones do you use?Unknownhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/04356934607523124394noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7976081.post-17421114540449710072012-04-11T18:00:28.695+03:002012-04-11T18:00:28.695+03:00This is a late comment. But I find that most of t...This is a late comment. But I find that most of the information posted by Mark assumes that all or most of us have money. I cannot get an Israeli credit card without securing it first with cash in an amount equal to the credit limit I want. I do not have any cash to secure it with. I have only a debit card that goes against my Israeli bank account. I do, however, have a few American credit cards, one of which has zero foreign transaction fees. And I have a debit card for my American bank account which has zero ATM fees (translates to zero foreign transaction fees). But I rarely use the credit cards. I have almost no debt -- not even a mortgage because I cannot afford to buy a house here. I try to live within my means -- a concept that I find is foreign to most Americans and Israelis....Rachelhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/12401579760660391194noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7976081.post-65082083465280113142012-04-09T20:52:47.433+03:002012-04-09T20:52:47.433+03:00Great informative article!Great informative article!Marina Shemeshhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15088686298448918419noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7976081.post-34043745550073687562012-04-03T20:29:30.511+03:002012-04-03T20:29:30.511+03:00Your blog entry greatly prepared us, so when we we...Your blog entry greatly prepared us, so when we went to the bank today to open our account (which took 2 hours), we were more than prepared. We found out there was a fee for depositing too much money!!! It helped that the bank rep was a very sweet young woman who apologized for the long wait because her computer went down. We used some of the time to go to the Do'ar to pay the fee for registering for Kupat Cholim. Why do you have to pay the post office a fee for doing all sorts of random stuff that has nothing to do with the post office!?!?Miriam Bloombergnoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7976081.post-17847908004432905712012-04-02T10:47:29.609+03:002012-04-02T10:47:29.609+03:007. Mortgages are a class to themselves. You do not...7. Mortgages are a class to themselves. You do not need an account at a particular bank to get a mortgage. You should print out copies of your last three pay stubs (husband and wife) and last three bank statements and SHOP between banks. You should compute how much you need from the bank and ask them for a line of credit for many times more than the amount you need. The mortgage department will allocate a line of credit and the conditions of the loan to be executed usually in a 1-2 month time frame. Therefore when you negotiate with a seller, you know a priori that the bank will give you the amount you need. You need the signed legal purchase contract and deliver the contract to the bank to get the loan but usually there is no change in the loan terms except if the prime rate jumped (which would affect all other mortgage banks anyway). if the time limit is up, you have to go back to get extensions on the line of credit. The worst thing that can break Israelis in home purchases is to sign a contract before getting a line of credit from a mortgage bank. Still there are a lot of things that can go wrong after that in that the lawyers of the mortgage bank do not like the way the particular property is registered in the land registry and may refuse to give the money. One buying a house better have a good lawyer first access the land registration and have line of credit approvals from the bank prior to going to contract even at the risk of losing their dream property. CPI Indexed loans are a robbery here in that the banks sets the initial index upon taking the loan considerably lower than the actual CPI so the principal owed after the first payment can be tens of thousands of shekels higher. I would go only with prime linked for loans on the order of 200000-400000 NIS.<br /><br />8. Overdraft……some banks give better interest rates on overdraft than on credit cards. It is an optimization game. Hapoalim has 10% annual overdraft interest but credit card credit payments (TSHLUMIM with Credit of 6%). Benleumi is the opposite. Low overdraft but higher credit card interest rates. It is according to taste. Note that in the USA, the average American revolves $18,000 on credit cards with an average of 14-15% interest. That is "American overdraft" even though the banks do not let you go negative in the USA. I prefer the system here now, but it takes getting used to.<br /><br />9. I have heard that the Bank of Jerusalem is an excellent bank (owned by Zalman Shoval's family if I am not wrong) but they have no coverage. I would not go anywhere near the Bank HaDoar if you have any significant bank deposits.Mark from Haifanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7976081.post-29169667543504108832012-04-02T10:46:51.328+03:002012-04-02T10:46:51.328+03:004. I disagree very much with your assessment of pu...4. I disagree very much with your assessment of putting all charges on the credit card…..cellphone, telephone, gas, etc. as a means to save a line charge. You have to be very, very careful. If anyone of these companies make an error, you pay. The credit card companies do not work in your favor legally and there is a marked difference legally between customer rights as in the USA vis a vis credit cards. You have to fight and claw to get the credit card companies to reverse any charge here. However, if you pay by bank standing order, you can cancel any debit from your account within up 3-5 days that a suspicious debit is identified. Putting charity payments on a credit card is also very dangerous since the charity can overcharge you and you have no legal recourse. I pay charities ONLY by check and never by credit card unless I know the charity well. It is safer to set up a bank Horat Keva to a charity than a credit card horat keva. I get into many arguments with charities soliciting money on the phone after they request my credit card and CVV number, and I tell them to mail an envelope. It is very dangerous….don't give credit card details except to people swiping the card, or if you know the business to be reputable. Israeli cellphone/Internet companies, which are the worst class of Israeli (and I would venture to say human) suffering, They should be paid ONLY by a bank horat keva. It is much easier to cancel a huge error bank statement debit than credit card debit (which I would venture to say is impossible for the internet/cellphone companies).<br /><br />5. WIth regard to checks, it is illegal by Israeli law to cancel or stop a check….. since the checks can be passed. You should alway put a black cross, and they can be ordered from the bank with the cross already printed on the checks with the Hebrew words with "L'Mootav Bilvad". If you notice, the check says in English "Pay to" and not as in the USA "Pay to the order of". meaning that the check can be passed. "L'Mootav Bilvad" with the black cross converts the check to USA style "Pay to the Order of" as my banker explained to me 15 years ago. Not crossing the checks is foolish and even dangerous if your check is refused after having been passed five times and ends up in the hands of the son of an Israeli underworld mob chief. No joke by the way. I have heard such stories in Haifa.<br /><br />6. Depositing checks are a hassle. I always take an envelope and use the bank drop box if I don't have time to go into the branch. Usually that branch would open the envelope and deposit that check using the teller of that branch after the doors of the bank close. However, as of last month, I learned that Hapoalim now sends drop box checks to a central house for clearing which may delay deposit by a day.Mark from Haifanoreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7976081.post-73931226723242892722012-04-02T10:43:59.798+03:002012-04-02T10:43:59.798+03:00Having been here 20 years, I have become accustome...Having been here 20 years, I have become accustomed to the banks and have much less patience for U.S. banks. However, in reading your post, I want to impart a little extra wisdom from experience.<br /><br />1. When opening an account, you have to go and not act like an American. The bankers hate it. You have to walk in like you own the bank and always try to have the manager (at the beginning appoint you a personal banker). Try to get his cellphone number as I do. I have had an account over the years with every bank. My last jump was to Hapoalim, and they have the best services if you can get a good banker…. particularly for Israeli and foreign securities trading and wiring foreign currency overseas if you are in need of those services. One native Israeli told me sort of cynically that he has two bank accounts and the banks love to see movement so he electronically sends the same 10000 NIS bouncing back and forth between accounts to show he is a big shot. He claims the banks love it although it sounded rather stupid to me but he builds houses so I assume he has reasonable relations with his banker to stay in business.<br /><br />2. Your assessment of the credit limit on payments and having cards blocked is quite true. If you can afford it, you should have two cards each for husband and wife. One strategy is to have two card from the bank and negotiate the biggest limit you can get on one. For someone with family living abroad, try to get one at least 40,000 NIS limit preferably more. Next, there are other cards that you can get outside of the bank. For example, Supersol has credit cards through Leumi that are "Choutz Banka-it" (outside of the bank). These cards are paid monthly by Horat Keva (Bank Standing order) to your regular account. CAL has Lufthansa Visa cards (if you can stomach a card from Lufthansa) just to name a few possibilities (there are many other options). Put payments on one card and use the other card for everyday use. The next issue is to get them to waive the monthly fee. Teachers have the best deal in the land. Ashmoret from the Teacher's Union gives Mastercards free from monthly charges which you can also get "Choutz Banka-it" (outside of the bank) if not with Hapoalim based bank. They will allow your spouse to have one, too.<br /><br />3. Bank Line fees can be reduced by negotiation. I told my banker if I see one, I will close my account. He waives them. But the benefit has a time limit so you have to go into the bank to get it renewed (usually annually). Also negotiate the bank to waive teller fees which are about 5 times higher than electronic fees. In the worst case, negotiate that the teller fees are the same as electronic transaction fees.Mark from Haifanoreply@blogger.com