Israeli digital bank Esh launched operations today three years after it received a banking license from the Bank of Israel. The bank is offering the public the opportunity to open a checking account without fees “forever,” in the words of its executives. The bank has also developed an innovative model in which it will share with its customers 50% of the income it generates from customers’ money, which will be deposited in its customers’ bank accounts. Among the bank’s founders is tech entrepreneur Nir Zuk, who stepped down last month as CTO of cybersecurity giant Palo Alto Networks, which he founded.
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The Esh Group, which includes the bank and the technology company that develops its software systems – Esh OS, managed by Yuval Aloni, who today presented its main developments. Esh Bank itself is headed by Prof. Shmuel Hauser, former chairman of the Israel Securities Authority. The bank, which was initially located in the Sarona Tower across from the Azrieli Center in Tel Aviv, moved earlier this year to offices in the Vitania Tower in south Tel Aviv. However, anyone who wants to visit the bank’s offices need not bother, as everything will be digital.
“There is a bank and there is a high-tech company called Esh OS – a high-tech company that built the banking system from scratch,” explained Zuk. The bank’s technology, he said, “Fully automates banking procedures. Therefore, here is a bank whose operating costs are completely negligible. At its peak, Esh Bank will only have about 70 employees.”
The bank plans to take advantage of its low operating costs to distribute half of the income it generates from its current operations and deposit it in customer accounts. No fees will be charged on current accounts, compared to a monthly fee of NIS 10-50 at other Israeli banks. There will also be guaranteed interest on all accounts at Esh Bank, which will be the same rate for all customers. In other words, it will not depend on the amount deposited. The bank will update customers once a week how much money was paid to them according to the shared income model.
Published by Globes, Israel business news – en.globes.co.il – on September 15, 2025.
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