A review by the Deputy Supervisor of Banks at the Bank of Israel, Oded Peretz, before the Knesset's Economics Committee, presents a figure according to which the use of digital banking services is on the rise - even among senior citizens.
As part of the discussion on the closure of branches and private ATMs, the Deputy Supervisor presented the changes in the banking system in Israel and around the world resulting from technological developments.
These have led to an increase in the volume of direct banking services, an improvement in their availability and a reduction in their prices.
Following these changes, there has been a significant change in consumer preferences, and the proportion of customers who use direct banking services is increasing every year, and following the Corona crisis even more so.
According to the survey, in recent years there has been a dramatic increase in the use of direct channels and a decrease in the operation of branches, with the rate of use of direct channels being very high, even among senior citizens. With regard to senior citizens, some of whom still need services through a representative, the regulator has taken several steps, including: promoting in cooperation with the Ministry of Social Equality and through the banking system a program for digital empowerment of senior citizens, and a convention to make banking services accessible to senior citizens; Determining priority in the provision of banking services by telephone and at the branch; Promoting processes to reduce the phenomenon of senior citizen fraud and more.
It also turns out that even after the closure of bank branches in recent years, the number of branches in Israel is still large compared to OECD countries.
At the same time, there has been a decrease in the number of applications for the closure of the total branches of those submitted for approval.
There has also been a decrease in the number of applications approved without the conditions, and in fact most of the applications approved are in non-peripheral areas.
The volume of inquiries handled by the Public Inquiries Unit regarding the closure of bank branches is also declining.
With regard to the deployment of ATMs, data were presented which show that the amount of ATMs is high compared to the world, and that over the years there has been an increasing trend in the number of ATMs, both banking and private.
The Supervisor requires the banks in Israel to place automatic devices near each branch to ensure the availability and accessibility of cash services to the public.
If necessary, approval of closing a bank branch is conditional on leaving an instrument near the closed branch.
An analysis of the withdrawal data shows that the rate of cash withdrawn through the banking instruments is 89% of the total withdrawals through instruments in Israel.
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