Revolut Gets Bank of Israel Conditional Licence
The Bank of Israel yesterday granted Revolut a conditional licence for an Israeli bank and gave its controlling shareholder, Nikolay Storonsky, a control permit. A conditional licence is an approval that takes full effect only once stated conditions are met, and a control permit is approval to control a bank. Calcalist, Globes and The Times of Israel reported that the decisions, announced on 10 November 2026, followed review by the central bank’s Banking Supervision Department, the unit that supervises Israeli banks, in consultation with its Licensing Committee.
The bank is still in formation, meaning it is being set up and is not yet operating. It is not yet authorised to offer banking services. It must first complete regulatory, technological and operational preparations and meet milestones before activation and the lifting of restrictions. No launch date, product range or fees have been disclosed, so the decision is a staged approval and not a launch.
Supervisor of Banks Daniel Hahiashvili said the licence was granted under tiered licensing, a framework built for small new banks. It is the third new-bank licence since December 2019, after about four decades with none, and the Israeli banking market is dominated by five banking groups. Governor Amir Yaron said:
The completion of the review process for granting the banking license today brings things full circle
Amir Yaron, Governor, Bank of Israel
Brokers, payment service providers, and foreign exchange and payments firms that compete with or bank alongside Revolut in Israel have no trigger yet. The milestones set by the Banking Supervision Department and the eventual activation of the bank are the points that would matter for any commercial or banking-relationship response.
Revolut separately holds a payment-services licence from the Israel Securities Authority, granted in July 2025. Uri Nathan, previously chief executive of Pepper, Bank Leumi’s digital bank, is the chief executive and Shmuel Ben Zvi the chairman. Revolut has more than 80 million customers. Last Tuesday Revolut said it was now a registered New Zealand bank.
Sources: Calcalist; Globes; The Times of Israel.
