One Zero Digital Bank, the first of its kind in Israel, has received final regulatory approval for a full banking license, the Bank of Israel said on Monday.
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One Zero thus became the first new Israeli bank in 43 years, and the first fully digital one, meaning it has no brick-and-mortar locations.
Having gained a restricted license in December 2019, One Zero, which is controlled by Mobileye founder Amnon Shashua, operated on a trial basis initially but has now met all criteria, including raising the necessary capital.
Governor of the Bank of Israel Amir Yaron and Supervisor of Banks Yair Avidan announced Monday that they have removed all restrictions on the bank's operations after it was confirmed that One Zero had met the milestones set for it and that the procedure for setting up the bank had been completed.
One Zero's status is now the same as all the other banks in Israel, supervised by the Bank of Israel's Banking Supervision Department to ensure its stability and to protect the money of its depositors, the central bank said.
"After 43 years, a new bank is being established in Israel, and this is further good news for competition and innovation in the banking and financial industry," Yaron said.
Unlike existing banks in Israel, which operate digital channels alongside to their traditional outline, One Zero "is entirely digital, which means it has no physical branches. The bank will offer advanced services, including flexible and competitive credit solutions, alongside standard banking services such as current accounts, credit, deposits, and securities management," the newly minted bank says in its mission statement.
"Being independent of the existing banking groups, the bank will offer, for the first time, a genuinely independent alternative, opening up the local banking industry to competition in a way that was never possible under the current banking model. Operationally lean and with no branches or thousands of employees, the bank will offer mostly automated work processes built around innovative technological capabilities that focus primarily on customer needs. As a result, it would provide advanced services and service experience at competitive prices aligned with the new technological world."
Bank Chairman Shuki Oren, formerly the Finance Ministry's accountant-general said that One Zero, which boasts a waiting list of 60,000 prospective clients, has marked "a significant milestone en route to real competition in the Israeli banking sector." He added that the new digital bank plans to "offer Israeli households a safe and holistic alternative" to traditional banking services.
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