Send money to Israel
See today's live rates — and exactly what your recipient receives, after every fee.
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Today's best rates to Israel
As of 24 August 2026, sending £1,000 to Israel, your recipient gets the most with Currencies Direct: 4,073.90 ILS, the best of 6 providers compared.
| Provider | Rate | Fee | Recipient gets | Speed | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
4.0739 0.23% worse | £0 | 4,073.90 ILS | 1–3 days | Send | |
4.0739 0.23% worse | £0 | 4,073.90 ILS | 1–3 days | Send | |
4.0764 0.17% worse | £6.37 | 4,050.38 ILS | Within 2 days | Send | |
4.0460 0.91% worse | £0 | 4,046.00 ILS | Within 2 days | Send | |
3.9816 2.49% worse | £0 | 3,981.60 ILS | 1–2 days | Send | |
3.9615 2.98% worse | £0 | 3,961.45 ILS | Up to 4 days | Send |
For a transfer to Israel, the cheapest route is almost always a specialist currency company rather than your bank. On a sizeable sum the bank's mark-up on the exchange rate matters far more than any fee — it is usually 1% to 4% of the whole amount, quietly built into the rate. Specialist companies stay much closer to the real mid-market rate, and can even let you fix today's rate for a payment due later. And Israel uses the IBAN, so paying into a Israeli account is straightforward.
The shekel is a free-floating currency, not pegged to the pound or the dollar, so the price you get genuinely moves day to day. That makes Israel different from a Gulf corridor where the rate barely budges: here, what you lock in really matters.
How the money reaches Israel
What account details you need
Israel uses the IBAN. An Israeli IBAN starts with IL and is 23 characters long; it is the only account detail most transfers need.
For the international step the receiving bank's SWIFT/BIC code is also used. This is the normal, expected way to pay into an Israeli account.
How the money is delivered
Once your pounds are converted, the money is delivered locally inside Israel. You don't choose the network — the provider does — but here is what is used.
What you actually pay to send money to Israel
The price of a transfer is not really the upfront fee — it is mostly hidden in the exchange rate. None of it is obvious, so each is worth knowing before you send.
The exchange-rate mark-up
The big one. Banks and some apps quote a rate a little worse than the real mid-market rate and keep the difference — often 1% to 4%. Because it is a slice of the whole amount, it usually dwarfs any upfront fee.
Correspondent-bank fees
An ordinary bank wire can pass through one or two intermediary banks, each able to take a small cut before the money arrives. Specialists using local payment networks usually avoid this entirely.
"No fee" hiding a poor rate
A headline "zero fee" means little if the rate is weak. Judge an offer by the money that actually arrives, not by whether a fee is shown — the comparison above ranks providers exactly that way.
A weak day on a floating shekel can cost more than any fee
Because the shekel floats and reacts to tech-sector and geopolitical news, the rate can move a percent or two within days.
On a large aliyah or property sum that swing dwarfs any transfer fee, which is the real argument for fixing a known payment with a forward contract rather than gambling on the day you happen to send.
Spot today, or lock the rate with a forward contract?
Spot today, or lock the rate with a forward contract?
With the shekel near a four-year high against the pound (around ₪3.93 to £1, after appreciating roughly a quarter against the dollar since spring 2025), a buyer who waits is effectively betting it weakens again.
If you have a property completion, an aliyah cost or other big payment due weeks or months from now, the rate can move against you in the meantime — on a £300,000 transfer, a 3% swing is roughly £9,000.
A specialist broker can offer a forward contract, which lets you fix today's rate now and pay later (usually with a small deposit), so the cost is locked whatever the market does. The alternative is a spot deal, where you exchange at the rate available on the day you actually send.
Spot is simplest for money you are moving right now; a forward contract is worth asking about when a known payment is some way off.
How to avoid fraud when sending money to Israel
On any large transfer the biggest risk is rarely the exchange rate — it is criminals getting between you and the money. These simple rules are worth knowing before you send.
Completion-day payment-diversion fraud
Rule: Criminals hack or spoof lawyer, agent or developer emails and send fake bank details just before completion. Always confirm the account details by phone on a number you already know — never one from the email — before sending a property payment.
"Better rate" cold-call / clone-firm scam
Rule: A firm that calls you out of the blue offering an unbeatable rate may be a clone of a real, regulated company. Check the firm yourself on the FCA Register at register.fca.org.uk using the phone number listed there, not the one you were given.
Aliyah and charity-donation pressure
Rule: Be wary of urgent requests to wire money for an aliyah deposit, a religious appeal or a charity that you cannot independently verify. Confirm the organisation and its bank details directly, and use traceable bank transfers rather than anything irreversible.
If you are a victim of fraud, report to Action Fraud on 0300 123 2040 or at actionfraud.police.uk (in Scotland, call Police Scotland on 101).
Is money sent to Israel taxed?
What the rules say
Moving your own money into Israel is not itself taxed. Israel has NO estate or inheritance tax (abolished in 1981) and no general gift tax between Israeli residents, so passing money to family there is not taxed on death or as a gift.
New olim get generous exemptions on foreign income for their first years (the reporting exemption tightened for arrivals from 2026, so timing matters); after that, Israeli residents are taxed on worldwide income. On the UK side, large transfers trigger source-of-funds checks, not a tax. General information, not tax advice.
Keep your paperwork
On a large transfer the UK firm must run a source-of-funds check — that is a compliance step, not a tax. Keep evidence of where the money came from (a sale statement, pension or investment paperwork, or bank statements) and a big transfer moves through far more smoothly.
When is the best time to send money to Israel?
For a one-off transfer the rate on the day is what counts — and it moves constantly. The aim is less about guessing the perfect moment and more about removing risk on payments you already know are coming. As a guide, once the money is sent an international transfer to Israel typically arrives the same or next working day once converted to shekels, with the receiving bank crediting it over Masav, or Zahav for large or urgent sums; on a big transfer the wait is usually the firm's source-of-funds checks, not the payment rail.
The shekel takes its cue from global tech-sector sentiment — Israel's economy leans heavily on high-tech exports — and, since late 2023, from geopolitical headlines, so the pound-to-shekel rate can swing more sharply than a pegged-currency corridor. There is no reliable "good month".
Two practical points instead: the Israeli banking week runs Sunday to Thursday, so a Friday UK transfer often sits until Sunday; and clusters of bank holidays around the High Holidays (Rosh Hashanah and Yom Kippur, September to October) and Passover (spring) close banks for several days, delaying the receiving end.
Lock the rate for a known date. If a payment is weeks away, many specialists let you fix today's rate now (a forward contract), so a sudden market move can't blow a hole in your budget before the money is due.
Set a target with a rate alert. For flexible transfers, you can set the rate you want and be notified (or trade automatically) when the market reaches it — useful when you have time on your side and no fixed deadline.
The costliest mistakes when sending to Israel
A handful of avoidable slips account for most of the money people lose. Each is easy to sidestep once you know to look.
Defaulting to your bank without comparing. The bank's rate mark-up usually costs far more than any fee, and it is easy to miss because it is built into the rate rather than shown separately.
Judging by the fee, not the amount delivered. A "no fee" offer can still be the worst deal if the rate is poor. Always compare on what actually arrives.
Mistyping the account number (IBAN). If the account details are wrong the transfer can bounce back after a delay, or reach the wrong account. Always check them against details your recipient sent in writing.
Trusting bank details that arrived by email. Payment-diversion fraud is a real risk — always confirm the receiving account by phone on a trusted number first.
Using an unregulated or cold-calling firm. Check the company on the FCA Register before you move any money, and never act on an out-of-the-blue offer.
Assuming a Monday-to-Friday banking week. Israel's working week runs Sunday to Thursday, with Friday and Saturday the weekend. Send late on a UK Friday and the money can sit until Sunday before the Israeli bank touches it. Around the High Holidays in autumn and Passover in spring, several bank-holiday days stack up — build that into any deadline.
Converting a big sum without allowing for shekel swings. The shekel is volatile because it floats and tracks tech and geopolitical news. Exchanging a six-figure amount on a single day's rate is a real bet. For a payment that is weeks or months off, ask a specialist about a forward contract to fix today's rate, rather than hoping the market stays put.
How do most people send money to Israel?
For most expats and larger transfers, the simplest and cheapest route is a specialist currency company paying into the recipient's bank account. For a known future payment, fixing the rate with a forward contract is what sets the specialists apart from a bank. Whichever you choose, judge it by the money that actually arrives — and confirm the receiving account before you send.
Frequently asked questions about sending money to Israel
Yes. Israel uses the IBAN (the long international account number).
An Israeli IBAN starts with IL and is 23 characters long, and it is usually the only account detail you need. For the international step the receiving bank's SWIFT/BIC code is also used.
This is the normal way to pay into an Israeli account, so a form asking for an IBAN is exactly right.
Almost always a specialist currency company rather than your bank. On a large transfer the bank's mark-up on the exchange rate — often 1% to 4% — matters far more than any fee, because it is a percentage of the whole amount.
At around ₪3.93 to the pound the shekel is near a four-year high, so the spread bites harder than usual; on a £250,000 aliyah or property sum the gap can be several thousand pounds. Compare providers by the number of shekels that actually arrive, using the live comparison above.
At the live mid-market rate, £2,000 is worth about ₪7,867. A typical high-street bank charging a 2–3% spread quietly keeps roughly ₪160 to ₪240 of that in the rate before your family sees a shekel, and there may be a wire fee on top.
Scale that to a six-figure aliyah move and the same percentage becomes thousands of pounds. A specialist company stays much closer to the real rate, which is why the comparison above ranks offers by shekels delivered, not by the headline fee.
Not quite. Israel has no consumer "instant payments" brand like UK Faster Payments, but the Masav clearing house now runs a Faster Payments service that moves domestic shekel payments in about five to seven seconds, around the clock.
Your transfer from the UK is different: it crosses by SWIFT and is normally credited the same or next working day, with large or urgent sums settling in real time over the Bank of Israel's Zahav (RTGS) system.
Open and activate your Israeli account early: banks generally want a deposit and your Teudat Oleh, and the Ministry of Aliyah and Integration pays your Sal Klita absorption basket straight into it. For your own savings, avoid converting everything on day one at a single day's rate.
Many olim move what they need now as a spot transfer and lock the rest with a forward contract, especially with the shekel currently so strong against the pound. This is general guidance, not financial advice.
No. Israel has no estate or inheritance tax — it was abolished in 1981 — and no general gift tax between Israeli residents, so passing money to family there is not taxed on death or as a gift, and moving your own money in is not taxed either.
New olim get generous exemptions on foreign income for their first years (the rules tightened for arrivals from 2026, so check timing), after which residents are taxed on worldwide income. On the UK side you may still face a source-of-funds check. This is general information, not tax advice.
Once the money is sent and converted to shekels, an international transfer to Israel usually arrives the same or next working day, credited by the receiving bank over Masav, or Zahav (the Bank of Israel's real-time system) for large or urgent sums.
On large amounts, the part that takes longest is normally the source-of-funds checks before the money leaves the UK — and, for olim, getting the Israeli account fully activated to receive it.
Our sources & how we keep this current
Last updated: June 2026. The live rates above refresh automatically, and we review the rest of this guide every month — updating it whenever the rules on payments, tax or regulation change.