Nikolai Timofejev
15 years in FinTech and payments. Maps your business model to the right licence scope and leads the file all the way to the ISA decision, including banking and payment rails.
Get a payment license in Israel.
The newest serious regime in the region: since June 2024 the Israel Securities Authority licenses non-bank payment companies under the 2023 Payment Services Law - opening rails that belonged to banks for decades, in the economy with the deepest fintech engineering bench per capita anywhere.
27 yrs
on the international marketon the market
60+
in-house specialistsspecialists
400+
Licenses obtainedlicenses obtained
Updated
Israel in brief
The startup nation finally licensed its own fintechs.
For decades Israeli payments ran through banks and card companies while Israeli engineers built payment systems for everyone else. The Regulation of Payment Services and Payment Initiation Law, 5783-2023, ended that: the Israel Securities Authority now licenses non-bank payment companies, basic payment-initiation providers, and approves advanced initiation - with control permits vetting anyone holding a controlling stake. The law delegates capital to the ISA's directives, which set equity, insurance and safeguarding by activity rather than one flat figure; the fee schedule is printed - ILS 34,935 to apply, annual fees of ILS 16,940 to 86,810 by category. Banks answer to their own supervisor; the ISA runs the non-bank field.
The reason the regime matters is the economy around it: the world's densest fintech talent per capita, an open-banking framework already in law through the Financial Information Service Act, and a domestic market of ten million with card penetration near saturation and account-to-account rails opening beneath it. Tax runs 23% corporate with the technology-track regimes taking qualifying IP income to 7.5-16%, VAT at 18%. Israel is not a volume passport - it is where payment products get built, and now the builders can hold the licence. We run the ISA file end to end from our international desk.
Since June 2024 the ISA licenses non-bank payment companies and initiation providers under the 2023 law - capital by activity per ISA directives, printed fees (ILS 34,935 application; 16,940-86,810 annual), control permits for holders.
The regime opened bank-held rails in the world's densest fintech talent market. Open banking is statutory; tech-track tax runs 7.5-16% on qualifying IP.
The routes
Payment company - or the initiation tier.
The 2023 law licenses by function: a payment company for holding and moving client money, initiation licences for triggering payments from accounts you never touch. We fix the route first, then build once.
Payment company for client money - initiation tiers for triggering it.
01 - PAYMENT COMPANY
The ISA payment licence
The full non-bank licence: issuing payment accounts, acquiring, transfers and wallet models - with equity, insurance and safeguarding set by the ISA's directives for the activities you run.
The full non-bank licence: issuing payment accounts, acquiring, transfers and wallet models - with equity, insurance and safeguarding set by the ISA's directives for the activities you run.
- ✓Payment accounts, acquiring, transfers
- ✓Capital per ISA directives - by activity
- ✓Client funds safeguarded
- ✓Control permit for controlling holders
- ✓Application fee ILS 34,935
- ✓Annual fee by category
02 - PAYMENT INITIATION
Open-banking rails - ISABasic & advanced initiation
Triggering payments from customer accounts without holding funds: the basic initiation licence for standing the service up, advanced initiation by approval - the light entry into Israel's opening account rails.
Basic initiation licensed, advanced by approval - no float, lighter file, upgrade path.
- ✓Basic initiation - licensed
- ✓Advanced initiation - by approval
- ✓No client float, lighter file
- ✓Open-banking framework in law
- ✓Same ISA supervision
- ✓Upgrade path to payment company
Costs and timelines are confirmed for your case before any work begins. Capital, insurance and safeguarding follow the ISA's directives for your activity mix - we confirm the numbers in writing at the scoping stage.
Why Israel
Where the builders hold the licence.
A young regime, a saturated card market cracking open, and the deepest product-engineering bench in the region.
✓
A regime built for non-banks
The 2023 law exists specifically to let fintechs in - payment accounts, acquiring and initiation licensed by the ISA, outside the banking perimeter.The 2023 law's whole point.
✓
The talent argument
More fintech engineers per capita than anywhere - the product, compliance-tech and security hiring that takes quarters elsewhere takes weeks in Tel Aviv.Hiring in weeks, not quarters.
✓
Open banking in law
The Financial Information Service Act put data access on statutory footing - initiation and account-information products build on rights, not on bank goodwill.Rights, not bank goodwill.
✓
Printed fees
ILS 34,935 to apply, ILS 16,940-86,810 a year by category - the regulatory budget is knowable from the fee schedule before the first meeting.Budget knowable up front.
✓
Tech-track tax reliefs
Qualifying IP income runs at 7.5-16% under the technology regimes against the 23% headline - payment platforms with real IP model materially better here.Real IP prices below 23%.
✓
A market cracking open
Ten million consumers, near-total card penetration, and account-to-account rails opening under a law designed to admit competitors - the timing is the point.Cards saturated, rails opening.
How it compares
How Israel differs from other routes.
Israel licenses product depth, not passport reach. The honest comparison is below.
Israel vs other jurisdictions
| Feature |  Israel | Other jurisdictions |
|---|---|---|
| Regime age | Live since June 2024 | Decade-old frameworks |
| Capital | By activity - ISA directives | Flat statutory minimums |
| Talent | Deepest per capita | Imported or contested |
| Reach | Domestic + tech exports | Passports, thinner markets |
Regime age
IsraelLive since June 2024
Other jurisdictionsDecade-old frameworks
Capital
IsraelBy activity - ISA directives
Other jurisdictionsFlat statutory minimums
Talent
IsraelDeepest per capita
Other jurisdictionsImported or contested
Reach
IsraelDomestic + tech exports
Other jurisdictionsPassports, thinner markets
Country by country
| Country | License type | Taxation | Requirements |
|---|---|---|---|
| Israel | Payment co. (ISA) | 23% · tech 7.5-16% | ISA directives · fees set |
 UAE | RPS Cat I-IV (CBUAE) | 9% · 0% band | AED 0.1-3M by volume |
 Türkiye | PI / EMI (CBRT) | 30% payment sector | TRY 20-105M equity |
 Bahrain | PSP (CBB) | 0% · 15% DMTT large | BD 25k-250k by tier |
IsraelLicense typePayment co. (ISA)
Taxation23% · tech 7.5-16%
RequirementsISA directives · fees set
UAELicense typeRPS Cat I-IV (CBUAE)
Taxation9% · 0% band
RequirementsAED 0.1-3M by volume
TürkiyeLicense typePI / EMI (CBRT)
Taxation30% payment sector
RequirementsTRY 20-105M equity
BahrainLicense typePSP (CBB)
Taxation0% · 15% DMTT large
RequirementsBD 25k-250k by tier
Before you apply
Requirements for the ISA licence.Requirements for the licence.
The law sets the perimeter and the ISA's directives set the numbers - the craft is a file that answers both. The checklist below is what a passing application contains.
01
An Israeli company - the local entity the ISA licenses, with payment services as its business.
02
Equity per the ISA's directives - set by activity mix and volumes; confirmed in writing at the scoping stage.
03
Control permits - anyone holding a controlling stake cleared by the ISA before the licence issues.
04
Safeguarding - client funds protected per the directives, separated from the company's own money.
05
Insurance or equivalent security - where the directives require it for your activity mix.
06
Fit and proper management - competence, clean records, ownership transparent to UBOs.
07
A programme of operations - services, volumes and financial projections the ISA can interrogate.
08
AML/CFT framework - KYC, monitoring and reporting under Israel's prohibition-of-money-laundering regime.
09
Technology and cyber documentation - the ISA's information-security directives for payment companies are specific and enforced.
10
Governance - board arrangements, risk management and control functions to directive standard.
01
Israeli company, locally run.
02
Equity per ISA directives.
03
Control permits for holders.
04
Client funds safeguarded.
05
Insurance where directed.
06
Fit & proper management.
07
Interrogable programme of operations.
08
AML under the Israeli regime.
09
Enforced cyber documentation.
10
Directive-grade governance.
Reflects the Regulation of Payment Services and Payment Initiation Law, 5783-2023, and ISA directives and fee regulations, as of 2026.Law 5783-2023 + ISA directives and fee regs, as of 2026.
How it works
From first call to the ISA register.
01
Route and scoping
Payment company or initiation tier, the directive-set capital for your mix, control permits mapped - fixed in writing.Licence tier, capital, permits mapped.
02
Israeli company and people
Incorporation, equity evidence and the resident officers the ISA vets - control-permit files running in parallel.Incorporation; permits in parallel.
03
The application file
Programme, safeguarding, insurance and cyber documentation per the directives - complete before filing.Complete before filing.
04
ISA review
Question rounds answered, permits landing alongside - plan on six to twelve months end to end.6-12 months realistic.
05
Licence and launch
Register entry, safeguarding live, reporting calendar running - on rails the law just opened.Registered, safeguarded, live.
Quick facts
RegulatorISA
Law5783-2023 · live 2024
LicencesPayment co. · initiation
CapitalPer ISA directives
Application feeILS 34,935
Annual feeILS 16,940-86,810
Realistic timeline6-12 months
Corporate tax23% · tech 7.5-16%
The control permit is the sleeper issue: holders are vetted separately, and sequencing it late costs quarters. We run it in parallel from day one.
Your Israel desk
Run from our international desk.
Prifinance - international desk
London · coordinating Israeli mandates
7 Bell Yard, London
01
Israeli company formation
Local incorporation and the corporate layer the ISA expects - structured for the licence and the control permits from day one.Built for licence + permits.
02
The ISA file
Programme of operations, safeguarding and insurance design, cyber documentation per the directives - drafted by us and defended through the rounds.Directives answered in full.
03
Control-permit strategy
Controlling holders cleared in parallel with the licence file, not after it - the sequencing mistake that costs applications quarters, avoided.Parallel, never sequential.
04
Substance and staffing
Resident compliance and operations hires from Tel Aviv's unmatched fintech pool - the one part of an Israeli file that is never the problem.Tel Aviv hires - the easy part.
We also have offices in
Tallinn
Estonia
Roseni 13
Vilnius
Lithuania
Gedimino pr. 2
Prague
Czech Republic
Vlkova 532/8, Žižkov
Dubai
UAE
33 Level, Al Saqr Business Tower
Madeira
Portugal
Rua da Alegria 31, 1F
Budapest
Hungary
Korányi Sándor u. 4
Istanbul
Turkey
Perpa Ticaret Merkezi, A Blok
Good to know
Taxation of payment companies in Israel.
A 23% headline with a serious discount for real technology: the preferred-enterprise regimes take qualifying IP income to 7.5-16%.
Corporate tax 23%
The standard rate on a licensee's fee and margin income - competitive for the region, before any technology relief applies.Regional mid-table.
Tech regimes 7.5-16%
Preferred technological enterprise rates on qualifying IP income - payment platforms with genuine product IP model materially below the headline.Qualifying IP income.
VAT 18%
The standard rate since January 2025; financial-service treatment follows the product - mapped before launch, not after.Since January 2025.
R&D that counts
Israel's R&D incentives and grant programmes reach fintech engineering - the build cost of a licensed platform nets down.Grants reach fintech.
Withholding and treaties
Dividend withholding by holder profile with relief under a broad treaty network - the group structure is modelled with the licence, not after it.By holder; treaties relieve.
The talent trade
Salaries are Tel Aviv salaries - the region's highest - bought against the region's shortest time-to-product. The licence economics price both.High salaries, short builds.
Tax summary
Corporate tax23%
Tech-track rates7.5-16% qualifying IP
VAT18%
Dividend withholdingBy holder · treaty relief
R&D supportGrants and incentives
Tax treaties60+
*Figures as of 2026 per the Israel Tax Authority. Technology-track qualification is assessed per structure.
Turnkey professional support
Experienced lawyers and international consultants.
We provide end-to-end support, from company registration and the application file to regulatory interaction and compliance oversight - with an individualized approach to each client.
Oleksii Kindratenko
Builds the application itself: Israeli company, AML/KYC policy pack, capital structure and tax registrations. His document sets are the reason reviews finish in months, not years.
Eugeniu Bevziuc
First point of contact for international founders. Runs the whole setup remotely, across time zones and languages - from the first call to a live, licensed institution.
Follow Prifinance
Active across our channels.
Israel · ISA
Launch your payment project in Israel with expert support.
Full-service assistance - from incorporation to the ISA licence, control permits and ongoing compliance.
Get a consultation →Free legal opinion
Is Israel the right fit for your project?
Our legal team will analyze your case at no cost and provide a written legal opinion: which jurisdiction, licence scope, or route fits your business.
Written assessment within 2-5 business days
Request a free conclusion →FAQ
The Israeli payment licence, answered.
What licence does a payment business need in Israel?+
From the Israel Securities Authority under the 5783-2023 law: a payment company licence for holding and moving client money, a basic initiation licence for triggering payments, or advanced-initiation approval - with control permits for controlling holders.
How much capital is required?+
The law delegates the numbers to the ISA's directives, which set equity, insurance and safeguarding by activity mix rather than one flat figure. We confirm your requirement in writing at the scoping stage - before anything is drafted.
What are the fees?+
Printed in the fee regulations: ILS 34,935 to apply and annual fees of ILS 16,940 to 86,810 depending on category - one of the few certainties you get before the scoping call.
Who regulates what?+
The ISA licenses and supervises non-bank payment companies and initiation providers; banks' payment activity stays with the banking supervisor. One law, two perimeters - your file lives entirely in the ISA's.
What is the control permit?+
Separate ISA clearance for anyone holding a controlling stake in the licensee. It is vetted on its own track, and sequencing it late is the classic Israeli-file mistake - we run it in parallel from day one.
How long does licensing take?+
The regime is young; plan on six to twelve months end to end with control permits running alongside. A file matching the directives exactly is the speed lever - and our job.
How are payment companies taxed?+
23% corporate tax, with the preferred-technology regimes taking qualifying IP income to 7.5-16%; VAT at 18%; withholding by holder profile with treaty relief. Platforms with real product IP model materially below the headline.
What about open banking?+
Israel put financial-data access into statute through the Financial Information Service Act - initiation and account-information products build on legal rights to the rails, which is exactly what the initiation licences are for.
What substance is expected?+
An Israeli company with resident management and compliance, safeguarding and insurance per the directives, and cyber documentation the ISA enforces. Hiring is the easy part - the talent pool is the country's export.
Why Israel rather than a bigger market?+
Because product depth beats population for some models: a ten-million market with saturated cards, opening account rails, statutory data access and the fastest build talent anywhere. Licence where you build; scale through corridors after.
Which licence?+
ISA payment company, or initiation tiers.
Capital?+
Per ISA directives, by activity.
Fees?+
ILS 34,935 apply; 16,940-86,810 yearly.
Who regulates?+
ISA for non-banks; banks stay with BoI.
Control permit?+
Separate clearance - run in parallel.
How long?+
6-12 months realistic.
Taxes?+
23%; tech IP at 7.5-16%; VAT 18%.
Open banking?+
Statutory - the initiation licences use it.
Substance?+
Local company, enforced cyber, easy hiring.
Why Israel?+
Licence where you build; scale after.
Client notes
Google4.7★★★★★
Founders who wanted it done right.
Google4.7★★★★★
“As a software development crew at FewMoreTaps OÜ, we've had the pleasure of working with Prifinance on some key financial moves.First of all, navigating the world of corporate banking and finance can be a maze, but Prifinance made it feel like a walk in the park. They helped us set up a corporate bank account without the hassle of jumping on a plane or drowning in paperwork. Everything was done remotely, smoothly…”
Google
“I had their assistance in company registration and I would recommend them. They were answering all my clarification during the process and offering all their supportThank you Daniel and Irinia”
Google
“We found PRIFINANCE COMPANYvia the Internet and asked for help in organizing the opening of their company in Estonia. PRIFINANCE COMPANY specialists helped us a lot with this. Their professional, competent approach and knowledge of their business left us with only the best impressions.”
Google
“I'm thrilled with my experience with PriFinance! They helped me obtain a crypto license in Estonia without any hassle. The team was super understanding and always available to answer my questions and assist. It was great to see how they put effort into preparing the documents to ensure everything went smoothly. I'm delighted with the outcome and highly recommend PriFinance to anyone looking to get a license…”
Google
“Opening an account with Prifinance in a Swiss bank was such an easy and quick process that I was shocked. It all started with the first call, where I received detailed guidance on the required documents and the entire procedure.One of the key highlights was their attention to detail. As someone who usually gets tangled up in paperwork, I was pleasantly surprised when they sent me all the documents and…”
Google
“I recently had the pleasure of working with Boris.. and I must say, it was a fantastic experience. Boris went above and beyond to assist me with my residency needs. His professionalism, knowledge, and dedication truly stood out. I highly recommend working with Boris and the team!”
Google
Start today
One message away from your Israeli licence.
Get a free legal opinion on your project - our legal team will analyze your case at no cost and provide a written legal opinion: which jurisdiction, licence scope, or route fits your business.Free legal opinion: which Israeli route fits your project and what it will cost.
✓Written legal opinion within 2-5 business days - free of charge✓A clear recommendation on the right licence scope, not a sales pitch✓Transparent fixed fees, confirmed up front✓EN · RU · ES speaking team
Prifinance is an independent law and advisory firm. We are not a regulator and are not affiliated with, endorsed by, or acting on behalf of the Israel Securities Authority or any other public authority. Authorisations are granted by, and obtained directly from, the competent authorities.