Last Updated on October 24, 2014
What frustrates you most about the banking services in Israel?
Results of our banking poll – October 2014
When it comes to banking and banking services in Israel, these are the things that frustrate Anglo olim the most.
Some of you comments
Mandy
What frustrates me most is that I cannot call in to my bank on the phone – as an Anglo, I find it hard to use the call center – instructions for dialing are mostly in Hebrew, or start off in English but continue in Hebrew. I have some Hebrew but nevertheless would like to be able to phone into my branch rather than take time to go there on the bus to do transactions. Again I battle to transact online because of lack of English service.
Stacy
I find the banks here very efficient and I find their security is top notch. I feel very secure about housing my money in Israeli banks as I know that the chances of a government shut down is very minimal (unlike in other places) and that my monies are secure. Once you get used to banking hours here, so you can just plan around it..The fees will ensure that the banks will stay in business and that your money is safe.The bank is like any other business in Israel-they are also in business to make a profit.
Zvi
We’re here thirty years. In my opinion Americans have to acclimate themselves to life here and not the other way around. True there are things that need improving but that’s true for any country and any situation. Now specifically about the banks:
When was the last time you dealt with an American bank? I find that the people working there are to say the least are not smart, their English many times is horrendous and at times they’re very nasty. The hours there are not better than here.
The banking system in Israel has improved tremendously over the years (especially since most of us do our banking online). Truth about English, I deal with them in Hebrew but Israelis usually speak a good English and are more than happy to use their English at any opportunity.
Therefore, I beg, if you think things need improvement that’s fine, try to improve, but let’s do it with less arrogance and try to remember where and with whom we live
Rachel
I wish you could leverage these results to do something against the banks. In Israel, if you don’t “scream”, you do not get heard.
Caryn
I think that if they improved their attitude towards their clients then a lot of those other problems listed would be addressed as a result.
Margie
I thought I was too demanding and used to excellent banking service in America so I tried to adjust to the system here! You don´t know how happy I am to see I´m not alone. Every one of the services (or lack of them) enumerated by you, have made me pull my hair many a time! How about all the windows available, but only one or two in service? Which in turn translates into hours of sitting waiting for one´s turn, which is a waste of everybody´s time and we´re not getting paid for, but they sure do charge us of every little thing. Israel is so advanced in technology, medicine, and many other fields, but banking for sure is not one of them. Inefficient, expensive service.
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