Paying for crypto straight from your Israeli bank account

Why buy crypto by bank transfer

Buying crypto by bank transfer is the least exciting and most sensible option for most people who buy in earnest. There is no card processing fee, no card company conversion fee and no ₪10,000 daily cap. The money leaves your current account in shekels and lands on an Israeli platform licensed by the Capital Market, Insurance and Savings Authority.

There is a benefit that only shows at the end, too. Money that goes in as shekels to a licensed platform, stays there and comes back to the same bank account is what Israelis call a “closed loop” (גן סגור), and banks treat it as low risk. If you bought by card on an international exchange, you will have more work to do when you want the money back. The only real downside of a transfer is time: anywhere from minutes to two days, depending on the type.

Where you can send shekels

Only two retail platforms accept shekel bank transfers, and both are Israeli and licensed. No international exchange, including Binance, Kraken and CEX.IO, accepts shekels from your bank. Payment apps such as Bit and PayBox are not accepted by the licensed platforms either.

Bits of Gold (licence 56716) is a broker: you deposit or pay, and the purchase goes through at a quoted price. A bank-transfer purchase starts at ₪750, a deposit to your shekel balance at ₪500, and a purchase from that balance at ₪100. Once the money arrives, the rate locks at the next round hour. The fee is 1.95% on the entry tier, falling to about 1.2% with three-month volume, with a ₪43 minimum fee and VAT on everything. When you sell, withdrawal to your bank is free from ₪750 (₪15 below that) and takes up to three business days.

Bit2C (extended licence 72080, now owned by eToro) accepts transfers only from one Israeli bank account in your own name, into a trust account at Discount Bank. Deposits are free. You can then use the instant buy, at 5% on the entry tier, or trade on Pro against other customers at 1.25% down to 0.05%. Its fee table shows ₪80 for a shekel withdrawal; the minimum withdrawal is ₪180 and the ceiling ₪700,000 per 30 days. Bit2C does not accept cash, cheques, foreign currency, cards or PayPal.

Four ways to move the money, and how long each takes

A regular transfer is the usual route: send it from your bank’s app or website, then wait. If you want to catch a particular price, a Zahav transfer (the Bank of Israel’s real-time payment system) arrives within minutes, and Bit2C accepts it directly. At Bits of Gold you can use Instant Transfer: the platform hands you over to your banking app, you approve, and the money goes immediately, provided your bank supports it.

One thing worth doing before your first transfer: send your banker a short question. Bits of Gold itself recommends it, because each bank has its own policy on crypto-related funds. Asking first saves a surprise on the way out.

Keep the bank’s transfer confirmation as well. Together with the platform’s transaction report, it is the first document anyone will ask you for.

Buying bitcoin by standing order

A standing order (הוראת קבע) is the Israeli version of what the rest of the world calls dollar-cost averaging: you buy a fixed amount every month without trying to time the market. At Bits of Gold you set it up once, from ₪500 per coin, and the purchases run on their own. The stated fee for standing orders is 1.55%, below the 1.95% on a regular purchase, plus VAT. Check on the site whether the ₪43 minimum fee also applies to standing orders.

An example: a young couple in Haifa who want to put aside ₪500 a month. By credit card, with a minimum fee, a processing fee and VAT, each such purchase could cost over a tenth of the amount. A ₪500 standing order at the stated fee comes to about ₪9 a month including VAT. Over a year that is a difference of hundreds of shekels. How much and when to buy is your call; we are only comparing costs.

SWIFT from a dollar account to an international exchange

If you are paid from abroad, say a freelancer receiving dollars into a Leumi foreign-currency account, there is another route: send dollars by SWIFT to an international exchange and buy there. At CEX.IO a SWIFT deposit costs 0.1% (minimum $10), from $300, and trading on the exchange itself costs 0.15% to 0.25%. Kraken accepts SWIFT deposits for Pro accounts, but we have not confirmed that this works from Israel. SEPA is not an option, since Israel is not part of the SEPA zone.

Three things to know first. Your bank charges its own SWIFT fees, plus a conversion fee if you change shekels into dollars beforehand. This is a transfer to a provider without an Israeli licence, and under Directive 411 banks must treat licensed and unlicensed providers differently, so expect a question. And a new CEX.IO account is limited to $1,000 a day and $3,000 a month for the first three months. We have not tested a SWIFT transfer from an Israeli bank ourselves, so start with a small amount.

Your first transfer, step by step

1. Open an account and verify

   Bits of Gold’s starter plan needs one ID document (up to ₪5,000 per six months). Bit2C asks for two Israeli ID documents, a video identification in Hebrew and a FATCA declaration.

2. Find the payment details

   Only in your account area on the official website. At Bit2C the transfer must come from one account in your own name.

3. Send from your bank

   Regular transfer, Zahav or Instant Transfer. Add whatever reference the platform asks for, if any.

4. Wait for the credit, then buy

   At Bits of Gold the purchase goes through at the next round-hour rate. At Bit2C you choose between instant buy and a Pro order.

5. Keep the paperwork

   The bank’s transfer confirmation and the platform’s transaction report. You will need them for your tax return and for your bank when you sell.

Bits of Gold’s starter plan is capped at ₪5,000 per six months. A second ID document raises that to ₪50,000 per six months, and digital identity verification unlocks the unlimited plan. If you are planning a larger amount, finish verification before you transfer.

Mistakes worth avoiding

• Paying from someone else’s account. Bit2C only accepts transfers from one account in your own name. A transfer from a partner’s, parent’s or business account can get stuck and bounce back.
• Sending less than the minimum. At Bits of Gold a bank-transfer purchase starts at ₪750, and a deposit to your shekel balance at ₪500.
• Paying through an app. Bit and PayBox are not accepted by the licensed platforms. Anyone asking you to pay that way is not the platform.
• Timing. A regular transfer sent on a Thursday evening may only arrive after the weekend. If the price matters to you, Zahav or Instant Transfer is quicker.

What your bank may ask

In most cases a transfer of a few thousand shekels to a licensed Israeli platform goes through without questions. Bank of Israel Proper Conduct of Banking Business Directive 411 bars a bank from refusing just because crypto is involved, but requires it to manage risk and to check the source of funds once activity passes about ₪100,000 a year. Separately, licensed providers report transactions of ₪50,000 or more to the Israel Money Laundering and Terror Financing Prohibition Authority. That does not mean you did anything wrong, only that your money is moving through a regulated channel.

If your bank does ask, it will usually want to know where the shekels came from, why you are sending them and where to. Bit2C itself warns that some banks may block transfers to or from it, so it is worth checking first. The documents, the banks’ policies and the July 2026 draft are covered in our guide to crypto and Israeli banks, and getting the money back at the end is explained in how to sell and cash out.

Once you have bought, decide whether to leave the coins on the platform or move them to a wallet of your own. At Bits of Gold an external-wallet withdrawal costs 0.95%; at Bit2C a bitcoin withdrawal costs 0.0005 BTC, after a video ID check. Bear in mind that coins that leave the platform are no longer in the closed loop, so when you sell you will need to show the whole trail. Either way, a profit on a sale is subject to capital gains tax.

Frequently asked questions

Sources

1. Bits of Gold — payment methods, minimums and standing orders · updated 30 August 2026
2. Bits of Gold — what are your costs · updated 30 August 2026
3. Bit2C — FAQ (deposits, Zahav, trust account) · checked 5 October 2026
4. Bit2C — fee schedule · checked 5 October 2026
5. CEX.IO — payment methods including SWIFT · checked 5 October 2026

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