Anyone who forgot to do so in advance and had to convert foreign currency at the last minute at the Bank Hapoalim branch at Ben Gurion Airport may remember that he was forced to pay a "special services" fee, which is higher than the foreign exchange fee. After the District Court approved a class action lawsuit on the matter, the Supreme Court has now rejected the bank's appeal.
According to the approval application, during 2019 the applicant made three foreign currency conversions at the bank's branch at Ben Gurion Airport. To his surprise, the fees charged to him were higher than the usual fees. The banking field is familiar to the applicant, and he suspected that the fees charged by the bank at Ben Gurion Airport do not match the bank's tariff and are not approved by the Bank of Israel.
Overcrowding: Large congestion at Ben Gurion Airport
The request for approval was submitted through Adv. Ronen Adini for a class action lawsuit in the District Court. At the heart of the request was the dispute over the exchange fee charged by the bank at its branch at the airport. The applicant claimed that the commission is higher on average than that charged at the other branches of the bank, which is contrary to the Banking Law. It was further argued that the exchange fee charged at Ben Gurion Airport should appear in the bank's tariff under "foreign currency", and not in the framework of "special services", in accordance with the full tariff in the banking rules.
The bank claimed in response that the Banking Supervision Department allowed it to collect the fees at Ben Gurion Airport at a different rate than the regular fees, and to include them in the framework of "special services" and not in the framework of "foreign currency."
"Wondering"
The court finally partially accepted the approval request and ruled that the purpose of the banks' tariffs is to create uniformity and transparency that will enable customers to compare the banks. It was also determined that it is appropriate to narrowly interpret the possibility of banks independently classifying services provided by them as "special services." As stated, Bank Hapoalim did not give up and appealed the decision to the Supreme Court, which has now been rejected.
"A practice that raises questions." Justice Ofer Grosskopf, photo: Courts website
Justice Ofer Grosskopf wrote in his decision: "Presenting the reference to an exchange rate starting at the Ben Gurion Airport counter elsewhere in the bank's tariff, a practice that the bank practiced even before the exchange of correspondence with the Banking Supervision Department, and according to which it continues to act today, is a practice that raises questions. Even if the Banking Supervision Department did not object to this in a letter sent at the time, it is doubtful whether this practice meets the requirements of the law."
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