Before you start

Passport plus Teudat Zehut for residents and olim, or passport with visa or permit for non-residents
An Israeli mobile number — a foreign number blocks app verification
Proof of a Beersheba address: a lease, an arnona bill or a utility bill
For students: the university's enrolment confirmation, which unlocks the student tariff

Step-by-step

1
Choose between a branch bank and ONE ZERO
Branch banks suit anyone wanting a named banker, a mortgage or business services, and all run an olim package. ONE ZERO is app-first on a flat monthly subscription instead of per-action fees.
OnlineWho: You
2
Ask explicitly for the cheapest plan, the olim track or the student tariff
Banks default you to the standard tariff and rarely move you unless asked. In a university city the student tariff is the one most often left on the table — bring your enrolment letter and ask for it by name.
In personWho: You, with the branch
3
Attend in person for identity verification
Israeli regulation requires face-to-face or video verification for a first account, including at the digital banks. The branches around the university and Soroka deal with English-speaking first-timers constantly.
In personWho: YouSame day to a few days for an appointment
4
Complete the tax-residency declarations
You sign CRS declarations, and a FATCA W-9 with your SSN if you are a US person. Incomplete FATCA paperwork gets accounts frozen or declined.
In personWho: You and bank compliance staff
5
Install Bit and PayBox
Person-to-person payments in Israel largely bypass bank transfers. Bit and PayBox are how you split a bill, pay a landlord or buy second-hand — and in a student city, how most of the second-hand furniture market works.
Mobile appWho: You

Documents you’ll need

Passport
Teudat Zehut for residents and olim, or visa / permit for non-residents
Proof of Beersheba address — lease, arnona bill or utility bill
University enrolment or appointment letter, for the student tariff or a non-resident account
Social Security Number for the FATCA W-9 if you are a US person

Things most newcomers don’t know

In a university city the student tariff is the cheapest banking in the country, and nobody offers it.

Israeli banks run heavily discounted student plans because they are competing for a customer who will still be there in twenty years. In Beersheba a very large share of new account-holders qualify, and the discount is worth more than any interest-rate difference — but you have to produce an enrolment letter and ask. Ask again when you switch from a degree to a postdoc: eligibility often continues and the bank will not check.

Source: Bank of Israel — banking fees; Israeli student banking practice

The fee plan is a negotiation, and almost nobody negotiates it.

Israeli retail banking stacks a monthly account-management fee on top of per-action charges, and the Bank of Israel regulates fee disclosure precisely because customers overpay by accepting the default plan. Asking for the cheapest maslul or an olim track at opening, and again yearly, is the highest-return five minutes of admin available to a newcomer.

Source: Bank of Israel — banking fees and consumer information

Even a digital bank needs you physically present once.

ONE ZERO is app-first and flat-fee, but Israeli know-your-customer rules require face-to-face or video verification for a first account regardless of the provider. Newcomers plan to open everything remotely before they fly and find they cannot. Book the verification for your first week.

Source: ONE ZERO; Israeli KYC requirements

Your arnona bill is the proof-of-address document that everything else accepts.

Banks, telecoms and government offices all want local address proof, and the municipal arnona bill in your own name is the cleanest form of it in Israel. That is a practical reason to register the tenancy with the municipality promptly rather than leaving the bill in the landlord's name — which in a student-heavy market landlords will often prefer to do.

Source: Be'er Sheva Municipality arnona registration; bank documentation practice

Common mistakes to avoid

Not asking for the student tariff in a city where most newcomers qualify for it.
Accepting the standard fee tariff without asking for a cheaper plan or the olim track.
Arriving as a US person without a Social Security Number for the FATCA form.
Turning up without an Israeli mobile number, which stops app verification completing.
Signing a Hebrew account agreement nobody has read to you in a language you are fluent in.

Some of this may be out of date. Spotted something inaccurate? Help us keep it right for the next newcomer.