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Credit Data Law, 5776-2016

חוק נתוני אשראי, תשע"ו-2016

Published: 2016-04-12Consolidated Hebrew text as of 2026-07-30 · Last amended 2026-07-26✓ Amendment status checked against the Knesset legislation record on 2026-09-17
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Unofficial English translation — for reference only. It may contain errors or omissions and cannot be relied on as a legal text. Only the Hebrew text published in Reshumot is legally binding.More

This English text was translated from the official Hebrew using a range of translation tools, and it undergoes ongoing checks and updates. It is not a certified translation.

Despite these checks, it may contain errors, omissions, or imprecise renderings of legal terminology and cross-references, and it may not yet reflect the latest amendments. It cannot be relied upon as a legal text.

The Hebrew text as published in Reshumot (ספר החוקים) and on the Knesset website is the sole authoritative and legally binding version. In any discrepancy, the Hebrew text prevails.

This translation is provided for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For use in legal proceedings, request a certified Expert Legal Opinion.

Chapter I: Purpose

Purpose§

1.
(a)The purpose of this Law is to establish a comprehensive arrangement for the sharing of credit data, including provisions regarding the collection of credit data from the information sources prescribed by law, their retention in a central information database operated by the Bank of Israel and the transfer of credit data therefrom to credit bureaux for the purpose of their processing and transmission, inter alia to credit providers, while safeguarding the interests of customers and the privacy of the customers to whom the data relate and preventing harm thereto beyond what is required, all for the following purposes:
(1)increasing competition in the retail credit market;
(2)expanding access to credit;
(3)reducing discrimination in the granting of credit and economic disparities;
(4)creating a non-identified information base to serve the Bank of Israel for the purpose of carrying out its functions.
(b)Alongside the comprehensive arrangement for the sharing of credit data referred to in subsection (a), this Law is intended to establish an arrangement regarding the collection, management and holding, by way of business, of credit data relating to individuals in their activity as traders only, for the purpose of their transfer to another.

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Chapter II: Definitions

Definitions§

2.

In this Law –

"interested party" – as defined in the Banking (Licensing) Law;

"credit report" – a report containing credit data, as its meaning in Section B of Chapter VII;

"data compilation report" – a regular data compilation report and a full data compilation report;

"regular data compilation report" – a report regarding a customer that includes the information contained in the database about that customer in the three years preceding the date of submission of the request to receive the report;

"full data compilation report" – a report regarding a customer that includes the information contained in the database about that customer;

"credit rating" – an assessment of the likelihood that a customer will meet the repayment of the payments to which the customer is committed;

"arrears charges" and "shekel interest" – as defined in the Interest and Linkage Law;

"the Committee" – the Economics Committee of the Knesset;

"electricity company" – a holder of an essential service provider licence and a holder of a supply licence as defined in the Electricity Sector Law, 5756-1996;

"Bank of Israel Law" – the Bank of Israel Law, 5770-2010;

"Banking (Licensing) Law" – the Banking (Licensing) Law, 5741-1981;

"Privacy Protection Law" – the Privacy Protection Law, 5741-1981;

"Companies Law" – the Companies Law, 5759-1999;

"Penal Law" – the Penal Law, 5737-1977;

"Interest and Linkage Law" – the Interest and Linkage Law, 5721-1961;

"credit indication" – an indication on the question whether to grant credit to a customer, as its meaning in Section C of Chapter VII;

"customer" – an individual who is not a minor, including in that individual's activity as a trader;

"credit bureau" – a person holding a credit data service licence;

"business information bureau" – a person holding a business information service licence;

"the database" – the credit data database established pursuant to Chapter V;

"identified information" – information that includes an identifying detail of a customer, or information from which identifying details of a customer have been separated but from which it is possible with reasonable effort to identify the customer to whom the information relates;

"non-identified information" – information about a customer that is not identified information;

"authorised agent for consideration" – a person whom a customer has authorised to receive a regular data compilation report about that customer and in whom one of the following applies, excluding a credit bureau to which such a power of attorney has been granted by a customer for the purpose of receiving services from it that are based on credit data as stated in section 13(2):

(1)that person receives consideration for receiving the regular data compilation report on behalf of the customer or for providing a service on the basis of such a report;
(2)that person receives regular data compilation reports on behalf of others, by way of business, or provides, by way of business, a service on the basis of such reports;

"the Commissioner" – a person appointed pursuant to section 66 as Commissioner for Credit Data Sharing;

"the Privacy Protection Commissioner" – a person appointed pursuant to section 18 as Privacy Protection Commissioner;

"the database manager" – a person appointed pursuant to section 17 to manage the database;

"payment instrument issuer" – an ancillary corporation as defined in the Banking (Licensing) Law that provides a service of issuing payment instruments, as defined in the Payment Services Law, 5779-2019;

"authorised source" – a credit provider, other than a banking corporation, a payment instrument issuer and an electricity company, whose institutional records, which it maintains in respect of payments, are institutional records that satisfy the conditions referred to in section 36 of the Evidence Ordinance [New Version], 5731-1971;

"information source" – any information source that is required to transfer information to the database or that is permitted to transfer information to the database, in accordance with the provisions pursuant to section 19;

"credit data user" – a credit provider entitled to receive a credit report from a credit bureau pursuant to Section B of Chapter VII, and if the Minister has prescribed pursuant to section 32 an additional body entitled to receive a credit report as aforesaid – also such a body;

"the Governor" – the Governor of the Bank of Israel appointed pursuant to section 6 of the Bank of Israel Law;

"office holder" – as defined in the Companies Law;

"credit provider" – a person who grants credit in the framework of a credit transaction, by way of business, and also a person who acts as an intermediary, by way of business, in credit transactions between lenders and borrowers and who is of a type prescribed by the Minister with the approval of the Committee;

"credit data" – data as detailed below, regarding a customer, which include identifying details about that customer as prescribed by the Minister pursuant to section 107, and which are required for assessing the likelihood that the customer will meet the repayment of payments to which the customer is committed:

(1)data regarding payments to which the customer is committed and their repayment, including the terms of the commitment, as well as orders or restrictions imposed on the customer by law due to non-payment;
(2)data regarding a customer's applications to take credit, including applications submitted by a credit bureau to the Bank of Israel pursuant to Chapter VII to receive credit data from the database;
(3)data regarding the scope of credit that the customer is entitled to take from a credit provider;
(4)data regarding types of accounts of the customer maintained with a credit provider in which credit has been granted or in which there is a right to receive credit, and characteristics of such accounts;

"trader" – as defined in the Consumer Protection Law, 5741-1981;

"credit transaction" – including the discounting of a bill, a guarantee of another's obligation, an undertaking to indemnify, and the granting of credit incidental to the sale of an asset or the provision of a service, but excluding the marketing of a credit transaction;

"identifying detail" – a first name, a family name, an identity number and any other information that may lead, directly or indirectly, to the identification of a specific customer;

"Head of the Privacy Protection Authority" – the head of the Authority as defined in the Privacy Protection Law;

"business information service licence" – a licence to operate a business information service granted pursuant to Chapter X;

"credit data service licence" – a licence to operate a credit data service granted pursuant to Chapter IV;

"information database registrar" – (deleted)

"service based on credit data" – a service from among the services listed in section 13;

"business information service" – the collection, management and holding of credit data regarding a customer in that customer's activity as a trader only, for the purpose of transfer to another, by way of business;

"credit data service" – the receipt of credit data contained in the database only, from the Bank of Israel, and their holding, for the purpose of transfer to another or for the purpose of providing a credit indication to another, by way of business;

"control" – as defined in the Banking (Licensing) Law, and any term in that definition shall be interpreted in accordance with that Law;

"banking corporation" – as defined in the Banking (Licensing) Law, excluding a joint services company;

"the Minister" – the Minister of Justice.

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Chapter III: General Provisions

Collection, Holding and Transfer of Credit Data by the Bank of Israel§

3.

The Bank of Israel shall collect credit data from the information sources, hold the credit data in the database and transfer them to credit bureaux and to customers, all for the purposes of this Law, for the uses prescribed therein and in accordance with its provisions.

Prohibition on the Collection, Holding and Transfer of Credit Data by a Person other than the Bank of Israel§

4.
(a)A person who is not the Bank of Israel shall not collect credit data for the purpose of transferring them to another, shall not hold credit data for the purpose of transferring them to another and shall not transfer them to another, by way of business.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a) –
(1)a credit bureau is entitled to operate a credit data service;
(2)a business information bureau is entitled to operate a business information service.
(3)a financial information service provider as defined in the Financial Information Service Law, 5782-2021, is entitled to collect and hold credit data for the purpose of transferring them to another, and also to transfer credit data to another, by way of business, within the framework of its activity as a financial information service provider pursuant to that Law.

Operation of a Credit Data Service§

5.

A person shall not operate a credit data service unless that person is a credit bureau and does so in accordance with the conditions of the licence granted to it.

Operation of a Business Information Service§

6.

A person shall not operate a business information service, unless that person is a business information bureau and does so in accordance with the conditions of the licence granted to it.

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Chapter IV: Licensing of Credit Data Service

Credit Data Service Licence§

7.
(a)A person wishing to operate a credit data service shall submit to the Commissioner an application for a credit data service licence (in this Chapter – a licence).
(b)The Commissioner may grant a licence to an applicant who satisfies all of the following:
(1)the applicant is a company as defined in the Companies Law;
(2)the applicant or an interested party therein is not a controlling shareholder in a credit data user or in an authorised agent for consideration and is not controlled by such a user or such an authorised agent for consideration or by a controlling shareholder in such a user or such an authorised agent for consideration, and with respect to an interested party in the applicant – that person is not a credit data user;
(3)the applicant has registered the information database as an information database pursuant to the Privacy Protection Law;
(4)the applicant has furnished a security in accordance with the provisions of section 8;
(5)the applicant, a controlling shareholder therein and an office holder therein have not been convicted of an offence which, by reason of its nature, severity or circumstances, renders the applicant unfit, in the Commissioner's opinion, to receive a licence, and no indictment has been filed against any of them in respect of such an offence in which a final judgment has not yet been given;
(6)the applicant meets the security requirements of the Bank of Israel and is capable of operating a technological system that will minimise the risk of harm to customers' privacy and the risk of harm to the information security in its possession.
(c)The Commissioner shall not grant a licence if the Commissioner finds that the conditions referred to in subsection (b) have not been met, or for reasons of public benefit.
(d)If the Commissioner has reasonable grounds to presume that the licence applicant will use the information received for purposes other than those of this Law or will not comply with the requirements under the Law, the Commissioner shall not grant that person a licence.
(e)The Governor shall prescribe provisions regarding the manner of submitting an application for a licence pursuant to this section, the particulars to be included therein and the documents to be attached thereto.

Security§

8.
(a)The Commissioner shall require a licence applicant, as a condition for the grant of the licence, to deposit with the Commissioner a security in an amount that the Commissioner shall direct, having regard to the anticipated scope of the applicant's business; the Governor may prescribe provisions in this regard, including the type of security, the manner of determining its amount, the manner of its deposit, its purposes including securing the compensation of a person harmed by an act or omission of a licence holder, the conditions under which it may be realised and the ways of its realisation.
(b)If the Commissioner finds that the circumstances have changed in a manner that, in the Commissioner's opinion, requires the security to be changed, the Commissioner may direct that it be changed.

Reporting Changes to the Commissioner§

9.

If a change occurs in a particular detail from among the details provided by the licence applicant to the Commissioner in the application or in documents attached thereto, the applicant shall report it to the Commissioner as soon as possible and not later than ten days from the day on which the applicant became aware of the change, and shall attach the relevant documents; if the change is a change in a particular detail from among the details relating to the registration of the information database as an information database pursuant to the Privacy Protection Law, the licence applicant shall notify the Head of the Privacy Protection Authority thereof within the said period.

Conditions in a Licence§

10.

The Commissioner may prescribe conditions and restrictions in a licence for the purpose of ensuring that a credit bureau operates in accordance with the provisions pursuant to this Law, including requirements regarding privacy protection, information security and the safeguarding of customers' interests.

Revocation or Suspension of a Licence§

11.
(a)The Commissioner may revoke a licence or suspend it if the Commissioner finds that one of the following has occurred, after having given the licence holder a reasonable opportunity to state arguments:
(1)the licence was granted on the basis of false or incorrect information;
(2)a condition from among the conditions for granting the licence has ceased to be satisfied;
(3)the credit bureau has breached a provision from among the provisions pursuant to this Law or pursuant to the Privacy Protection Law, the Commissioner's directives or a condition from among the conditions of the licence;
(4)serious and justified complaints have been found against the credit bureau;
(5)the credit bureau did not commence operating a credit data service within two years of the date of grant of the licence or ceased operating the service for a period as aforesaid;
(6)the credit bureau resolved to wind itself up voluntarily or a court ordered a stay of proceedings, appointed a receiver for it or ordered its winding-up;
(7)the credit bureau requested that its licence be revoked;
(8)the credit bureau breached a legislative provision in a manner that is capable of harming its reliability;
(9)reasons of public benefit justify the revocation of the licence or its suspension.
(b)The Commissioner shall notify the Head of the Privacy Protection Authority, as soon as possible, of the revocation or suspension of a licence, and shall publish notice thereof to the public on the Bank of Israel's website and in any additional manner that the Governor shall prescribe.
(c)All the provisions applicable to a credit bureau pursuant to this Law shall apply to a person whose licence has been revoked, for as long as obligations given by that person to its customers prior to the revocation of the licence remain outstanding.
(d)The Commissioner may give a person whose licence has been revoked directives regarding the management of that person's business, insofar as this appears to the Commissioner necessary in order to protect the customers who entered into contracts with that person prior to the revocation of the licence and the customers to whom the credit data relate; nothing in such directives shall exempt the person whose licence has been revoked from responsibility for fulfilling an obligation given prior to the revocation of the licence.

Operation of a Credit Data Service and Exclusivity of Occupation§

12.
(a)A credit bureau is entitled, within the framework of operating a credit data service, to engage in the following activities:
(1)to receive credit data contained in the database from the Bank of Israel, subject to the provisions of section 46, and to hold them for the purpose of providing a credit report or a credit indication to another, and to transfer the report or indication to another;
(2)to receive a regular data compilation report from the Bank of Israel for the purpose of transferring it to a customer or to an authorised agent for consideration, and to transfer it as aforesaid.
(b)A credit bureau shall not engage in an occupation that is not a credit data service as referred to in subsection (a), unless the Governor, after being satisfied that the additional occupation will not cause harm to the purposes of this Law, to the proper management of a credit data service or to the interests of credit data users or customers, has prescribed, with the approval of the Committee, an additional permitted occupation.
(c)The provisions of subsection (b) shall not apply to the following activities carried out by a credit bureau:
(1)the provision of services based on credit data, as referred to in section 13;
(2)the operation of a business information service, if it has received a business information service licence, and the provision of any service on the basis of information received within the framework of its activity as aforesaid in section 62.

Services Based on Credit Data§

13.

A credit bureau is entitled, in addition to operating a credit data service as referred to in section 12, to engage in the provision of the following services:

(1)the following services to a credit provider, on the basis of credit data received from the database only, for the purpose of preparing a credit report:
(a)a credit rating of a customer;
(b)a notice of a change in the credit rating of a customer or in the credit data about that customer contained in the database;
(c)advice on the following matters:
(1)entering into a credit transaction with the customer and the terms of the transaction;
(2)the advisability of taking collection measures with respect to a customer who has fallen into arrears in the repayment of payments to which that customer is committed;
(2)the following services to a customer, on the basis of a regular data compilation report:
(a)a credit rating of the customer;
(b)advice regarding the economic conduct of the customer;
(c)a notice of a change in the credit rating of the customer or in the credit data about that customer contained in the database;
(3)advice to a credit provider on the basis of non-identified information contained in the database, as referred to in section 45, regarding the characteristics of the aggregate credit granted by the credit provider to its customers and regarding the level of risk arising from that aggregate credit.

Prohibition on Conditioning a Service on a Service§

14.

A credit bureau shall not condition the provision of a credit data service on a service from among the services based on credit data or on a service that the Governor has prescribed as an additional permitted occupation pursuant to the provisions of section 12(b).

Public Enquiries Officer of a Credit Bureau§

15.
(a)A credit bureau shall appoint a public enquiries officer whose details shall be published in the manner directed by the Commissioner.
(b)The Commissioner shall prescribe the functions and mode of operation of the public enquiries officer of a credit bureau.

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LawCorporate & Business

חוק נתוני אשראי, תשע"ו-2016

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