Wallets/bit
Bit (Bank Hapoalim)
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Overview
Bit is Israel's #1 P2P payment app + Bank Hapoalim digital wallet [1, 2, il-cro]. 2025 baseline: ~3 million users in Israel (~30% of Israeli population). Bit became the leader in Israeli P2P-transfer apps per Israel Competition Authority July 2021 market research, position that strengthened over time.
2025 fee structure [3]:
- January 2025 — Bank Hapoalim began charging 0.6% fee on Bit transactions received >NIS 25,000/year per customer.
- 90% of users unaffected (don't reach threshold); 6% use Bit on commercial basis.
2024 Bank of Israel approval [4]: BoI approved Bit's transformation into a digital wallet — beyond P2P transfers to full digital-wallet functionality.
Distinctive Bit positioning: Israel's first digital wallet (Bank Hapoalim launched ahead of Apple Pay Israeli adoption); Bank Hapoalim = Israel's largest bank by assets.
History
2017 — Bit launches [2] by Bank Hapoalim as Israel's first digital wallet + P2P payment app.
2018-2024 — Mass Israeli adoption [1]: Multi-million-user growth to leader status.
July 2021 — Israel Competition Authority confirms Bit as Israeli P2P-transfer leader [2].
2024 — BoI approval for Bit digital-wallet transformation [4].
January 2025 — Bit started charging 0.6% on high-volume tx (>NIS 25K/year) [3].
2025 — ~3M users in Israel [1].
Ownership & operator
Operating entity: Bank Hapoalim B.M. (Israel's largest bank by assets).
Parent: Bank Hapoalim B.M. (TASE: POLI) — Israel's largest bank.
Regulators: BoI (Bank of Israel).
Technical integration
| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| Channels | Bit mobile app (iOS + Android) |
| Identifiers | Phone + email + card number |
| Israeli rail | Israeli interbank-payment-rail integration |
| License | Bank (Bank Hapoalim-operated) + digital wallet (BoI 2024 approval) |
| Sub-products | Bit P2P transfers + digital wallet (post-2024 BoI approval) + Bit 4% annual deposit interest (announced 2025-2026) |
| Cross-bank P2P | Israeli customers from all banks can use Bit (not Hapoalim-exclusive) |
| 2025 fee structure | 0.6% on tx received >NIS 25K/year per customer (90% users unaffected) |
Users & growth
- Users: ~3 million (Israeli; ~30% of population)
- Israeli P2P-transfer leader (Israel Competition Authority July 2021 confirmation)
- 2025 fee structure: 0.6% on tx >NIS 25K/year per customer (~90% users unaffected, 6% commercial use)
Use cases
Israeli P2P transfers (cross-bank); digital-wallet payments (post-2024 BoI approval); 4% annual deposit interest (announced); commercial Bit use for businesses (6% of users; subject to 0.6% fee on tx >NIS 25K/year).
Implementations & partners
Operator: Bank Hapoalim B.M. (Israel's largest bank).
Major Israeli mobile-payment competitors:
- [[pepper-pay]] (Bank Leumi digital + Pepper Pay)
- PayBox (FIBI / First International Bank of Israel)
- MAX (MAX It Finance / Discount Investment Corp)
- Apple Pay Israel + Google Pay Israel (Big-Tech rivals; Bit launched ahead in IL)
Regulator: BoI (Bank of Israel).
Fun facts
- Israel's #1 P2P payment app — ~3M users (~30% Israeli population, 2025).
- 2017 launch by Bank Hapoalim — Israel's first digital wallet (ahead of Apple Pay Israeli adoption).
- 2024 BoI approval for digital-wallet transformation beyond P2P.
- January 2025 fee structure: 0.6% on tx >NIS 25K/year per customer (90% users unaffected).
- Cross-bank P2P — Israeli customers from all banks can use Bit.
- Bank Hapoalim (TASE: POLI) parent = Israel's largest bank by assets.
- 4% annual deposit interest announced (Bit deposit feature).
Comparison
| Feature | Bit | [[pepper-pay]] (Bank Leumi rival) | PayBox (FIBI rival) | MAX (MAX It Finance rival) | bizum (ES bank-consortium analogous) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Bank Hapoalim B.M. (TASE: POLI; IL's largest bank) | Bank Leumi | First International Bank of Israel (FIBI) | MAX It Finance / Discount Investment Corp | Spanish bank consortium |
| Type | IL #1 P2P + digital wallet (cross-bank); 2024 BoI digital-wallet approval | IL digital bank + Pepper Pay | IL P2P (FIBI-anchored) | IL credit card + payment | Spanish bank-consortium A2A |
| Country | Israel | Israel | Israel | Israel | Spain |
| Users | ~3M IL (~30% population, 2025) | Major Bank Leumi customers | Major IL | Major IL | National (>50% adults) |
| Distinctive | Israel's first digital wallet (2017); 2024 BoI digital-wallet approval; 4% deposit interest; Jan 2025 0.6% fee on tx >NIS 25K/year (90% users unaffected); Hapoalim TASE: POLI IL's largest bank | Bank Leumi digital arm | FIBI-anchored P2P | MAX-anchored credit | EuroPA EMPSA cross-border |
Status
Active, Israel's #1 P2P payment app + Bank Hapoalim digital wallet [1, 3]:
- Bank Hapoalim B.M. (TASE: POLI; IL's largest bank) with Bit since 2017.
- ~3M users (Israeli; ~30% population, 2025).
- Israeli P2P-transfer leader (Israel Competition Authority confirmation).
- 2024 BoI approval for digital-wallet transformation.
- January 2025 fee structure: 0.6% on tx >NIS 25K/year per customer.
- BoI regulated.
Sources
- 1 BoI approves Bit digital wallet — i-AML Israel
- 2 Bit (payment application) — Wikipedia
- 3 Hapoalim Bit app charges Jan 2025 — Globes
- 4 Hapoalim Bit 4% deposit interest — Globes
- il-cro In-corpus:
reports/countries/IL-israel.md
Source
Biography extracted from bit.md. See matrix.md for standards-support matrix if present.