Israeli took an important step on fintech reform in June, opening the Israeli credit market to significant competition.

One of the problems facing the Israeli financial market is that just four or five banks control the entire system. The government has spent the last two decades trying to limit their control of the system. Fintech, which uses the latest technologies to transfer and synchronize data, is one reform target.

The reform measure was approved by the Knesset last October, as part of the general arrangements law and the economic program of the Bennett-Lapid government for 2021-2022. Arguably the most important part of this legislation is the financial information services law, which is designed to increase competition in the Israeli financial market, a 60-billion-dollar industry.

During debates on the bill, representatives of the Finance Ministry explained that the average household spends about 9,600 shekels ($2,700) per year on bank fees and interest. The proposed legislation would allow customer to compare prices easily and possibly reduce these costs.