Israel

Payment in Israel

Although Israel is advanced in terms of technology and innovation, its e-commerce market is relatively small. The fact that many Israeli start-ups are lured by large technology investors from Asia, Europe and the USA is not helping.
Nevertheless, Israeli e-commerce has a strong growth potential due to a rising mobile penetration rate among the younger generations. The compounded annual growth rate is expected to be of 7.3% until 2021. During the same period, it is predicted that there will be nearly 5 million Israeli online shoppers.

Preferred payment method - Cards

Cards are a central player in the Israeli payment landscape. In 2017, they experience further growth, attributed to their convenience and efforts by the Bank of Israel towards a cashless society. Minimizing the use of cash is thought to help reduce fraud and the black market. Online retail is gaining popularity, as it helps people counter the high cost of living. This also encourages the growth of the card industry. Data from Israeli Postal Company shows that Israeli consumers purchased the highest number of packages per capita among the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) countries.

The two largest credit card companies, Isracard and Leumi Card, will be required to separate from their respective banks, Bank Hapoalim and Bank Leumi le Israel. A new law, in accordance with the Strum Committee, was passed in 2017, requiring that the companies split in the following 3 to 4 years. This should create a more competitive landscape, as bank will have to offer all cards.

MasterCard as the most popular credit card

The most popular credit card in Israel is the MasterCard with 46.7% of the market shares. In addition, e-wallets are increasingly popular. Popular payment providers include Allcharge, Credorax, ImGlobal Payments, Paymentwall, Transila, Yaad Payments and Zooz.

Cross-border commerce

Israel is the 42nd largest exporting country in the world. The most popular export destinations are the USA, China, Hong Kong, Palestine and India. Meanwhile, imports are mostly ordered from the USA, China, Switzerland, Germany and Benelux.

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