By 2022, All Transactions in Israel Will Be Smart Transactions, Says Bank of Israel Exec

By the end of 2022, all payment transactions will be smart transactions, according to Ilanit Madmoni, head of innovation at the Bank of Israel, who spoke Monday at Calcalist’s The Future of Money conference in Tel Aviv.

The bank is committed to smart transactions and invests a lot into promoting smart payment methods, Madmoni said. One such method is Europay, MasterCard, and Visa (EMV), a technical standard for smart payment cards. “This standard does wonders,” Madmoni said. “It allows for smart transactions, payment apps, and more.”

Ilanit Madmoni, head of innovation at the Bank of Israel. Photo: Orel Cohen

Israel’s central bank has already determined that credit card companies operating locally must offer smart credit cards, Madmoni said. Recently, she added, the bank mandated that large businesses will be obligated to process smart transactions.

“By the end of 2022, all transactions in Israel will need to be smart transactions,” Madmoni said. “Why is it so important? To cut down on fraud and increase competition,” she explained, adding that smart credit cards will serve as infrastructure for future payment technologies, including paying with smartphones and other smart gadgets.

According to Madmoni, the Bank of Israel is also working to promote open banking—allowing third party players access to customers’ account data. This, Madmoni said, could encourage the creation of new financial services and technologies.

“The Bank of Israel understands that open banking is important not just to banks and account holders, but to third party organization, and to innovation,” Madmoni said.