The governor of the Bank of Israel and the Israel Supervisor of Banks announced Jan. 10 that all restrictions have been lifted from the new One Zero digital bank, which offers "private banking for everyone."

“Following 43 years in which no new bank was established in Israel, there were numerous innovative challenges involved in establishing the bank. The bank was established with the close guidance of many entities at the Bank of Israel. The bank’s readiness was examined in terms of information security and cyber-protection, technological risk management, evaluation of the quality of risk management, and the supervisory and control tools existing at the bank,” read the announcement. 

Bank of Israel Governor Amir Yaron was quoted as saying, “I congratulate the management and employees of One Zero Digital Bank for meeting the challenges involved in establishing the bank. This process, combined with other steps we have advanced, has the ability to increase competition in the banking system. … I wish the bank success, and hope that its establishment will pave the way for other banks to contribute to competition and to the well-being of consumers.”

Most banks in Israel offer a digital platform, but it simply mirrors the original bank and is not an entity of its own.