What can actually be done before you land?
More than most people expect, and less than the banks' marketing implies. Several Israeli banks run olim desks with English-speaking staff who will begin the process remotely, gather documents, and have an account ready to activate. Nefesh B'Nefesh and similar organisations can introduce you to the right department rather than a general branch queue.
What generally cannot be finished remotely is final identity verification. Most banks want to see you, your teudat zehut or visa, and an original passport at some point — often at a branch in the first weeks after arrival. Treat pre-arrival work as getting to the front of the queue, not skipping it.
The paperwork worth having ready is consistent across banks: passport, aliyah documentation or visa, proof of address abroad, and something showing the source of the funds you intend to bring. Having it scanned before you fly turns a multi-week exchange into a couple of days.
Where the phone number breaks the sequence
Every meaningful step wants an Israeli mobile. Setting up online access sends a code to it. Approving your first transfer sends a code to it. Registering for the bank's app sends a code to it. The bank asks for an Israeli number on the first form, and if you do not have one, that field either blocks you or gets filled with something that will need changing later.
Filling it with a relative's number is the common improvisation and the one that causes the most trouble. Their number ends up on your account, their phone receives your codes, and changing it afterwards is itself a secured action requiring a code sent to their phone. People spend months undoing that.
Using a foreign number is usually refused outright, and where it is accepted, delivery of Israeli bank SMS abroad is unreliable enough that you cannot count on it for anything urgent.
The order that works
Get the Israeli number first, weeks before the flight, and switch on SMS-to-email so codes reach you while you are still abroad. This is the step that unblocks everything after it, and it is the cheapest thing on the list.
Then open the account conversation with the bank, giving that Israeli number as your contact number from the very first form. Every code from that point lands in your inbox within seconds — online banking setup, app registration, first transfers — with nothing routed through anyone else's phone and nothing to change later.
When you land, the same number becomes an ordinary Israeli mobile the moment you put the eSIM on your phone. The bank, the health fund and every service you registered in the meantime already have the right number, and none of them need updating. Getting an Israeli phone number before you land covers the timing in full.
What this does not replace
It does not open the account for you, and it does not remove the in-branch visit most banks require. What it removes is the stalling — the weeks lost waiting on a code that has nowhere to go.
It is also not financial advice about which bank to choose, what to declare, or how to move money. Olim have specific tax and reporting considerations in both countries, and those are worth proper professional advice rather than a phone company's guide.
One thing genuinely worth doing early, though, is asking the bank directly what they can complete before arrival and what needs you in person. The answer varies by bank and by branch, and knowing it shapes everything else in your first month.
Quick answers
Can I open an Israeli bank account before I arrive?
You can start it, and in many cases get most of the way. Several banks run olim desks that will take documents and prepare an account remotely, though nearly all require in-person identity verification at a branch before the account is fully usable. The realistic goal is to arrive with the process underway and an appointment booked, rather than to arrive with a working account.
Do I need an Israeli phone number to open the account?
Effectively yes. The bank asks for an Israeli mobile on the first form and uses it for every verification afterwards — online access, app registration, transfer approvals. You can start conversations without one, but you will stall at the first secured step. Getting the number first is what keeps the rest of the sequence moving, and it costs far less than the delay does.
Can I use my parents' or a relative's Israeli number for now?
It is the most common shortcut and the one that causes the most trouble later. Their number becomes the registered number on your account, meaning they receive codes that approve your transfers — and replacing it afterwards is itself verified by a code to their phone, so it requires their cooperation at every step. Most banks' terms also prohibit registering a number you do not control.
What happens to the number after I land?
It becomes your normal Israeli mobile. The line is a real Israeli number the whole time — while you are abroad it simply is not attached to a network, with texts forwarded to your email instead. Once you are in Israel, put the eSIM on your phone and it works like any Israeli line, keeping the number your bank and every other service already has on file.