Bank Hapoalim is locking the shekel-dollar exchange rate at NIS 2.89/$ for the summer vacation season. The bank has announced the benefit for customers who use its credit cards on websites and at stores overseas, and who withdraw foreign currency overseas, from mid-June until the end of August. The bank will credit customers with the difference between the actual exchange rate (if it is above NIS 2.89/$) and NIS 2.89/$ on transactions totaling up to $5,000 monthly (in June, July, and August).

The bank’s move comes after the shekel-dollar rate began to rise last week. In part this was in the wake of remarks by Governor of the Bank of Israel Amir Yaron to the effect that the central bank might cut its interest rate more rapidly. On Friday, the representative shekel-dollar rate was set at NIS 2.91/$, 0.5% higher than Thursday’s rate, and 3.4% higher than the representative rate at the end of May, which was NIS 2.81/$. On the market, the shekel-dollar rate rose further on Friday afternoon after the representative rate was set, to NIS 2.95/$.

Pazit Garfinkel, head of Retail Banking at Bank Hapoalim, said this morning, "The bank is introducing a measure that will enable its customers to benefit from the current exchange rate and protect their dollar purchases against possible rises. If the shekel-dollar rate rises above 2.89 shekels to the dollar, the bank will absorb the difference and pay back to the customer the additional cost that has arisen. If the shekel-dollar rate falls, the customer will benefit from the lower exchange rate."

Published by Globes, Israel business news - en.globes.co.il - on June 7, 2026.

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