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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 IX: Maintenance of Confidentiality and Information Security

Maintenance of Confidentiality§

58.
(a)A person who has received information about a customer under this Law, including a person to whom the information has come by virtue of that person's position, shall not disclose it to another and shall not make any use thereof, except in accordance with the provisions of this Law or pursuant to an Order of a court.
(b)Where non-identified information originating from the database has come into a person's possession, that person shall not perform any action to ascertain the identity of the customer to whom the information relates.

Restriction on Transfer of Information to Public Bodies§

59.

Notwithstanding the provisions of Chapter IV of the Privacy Protection Law, 5741-1981, and the provisions of any other law, information shall not be transferred to or from the database except in accordance with the provisions of this Law.

Information Security§

60.
(a)The Bank of Israel shall collect the information transferred to the database, retain and transmit it –
(1)in a manner that ensures protection against leakage of information from the database or unauthorised access thereto, and also against transfer, disclosure, deletion, use, alteration or copying without lawful authority;
(2)in a manner that prevents use of the information contrary to the provisions under this Law;
(3)in a manner that ensures that access to the information is in accordance with the provisions under this Law and enables oversight and supervision of the manner of use of the database;
(4)in a manner that ensures that the non-identified information is retained and transmitted as such.
(b)For the purpose of fulfilling the objectives of this Law and ensuring the privacy of customers, and for the purpose of providing a credit bureau with access to non-identified information in the database as referred to in section 45, the Bank of Israel shall retain in the database the credit data and any other information relating to a customer as non-identified information, separately from any identifying detail; however, it shall be possible to link the credit data and any other information relating to a customer to the identifying details, thereby creating identified information, for the purpose of updating the data in the database with respect to a particular customer and transmitting them in accordance with the provisions of this Law, and also for any other purpose directly required for the operation of the database as the Governor shall determine with the consent of the Minister; the separation between identified information and non-identified information and the linking of data under this subsection shall be carried out in a manner directed by the Commissioner, after consultation with the Head of the Privacy Protection Authority.
(c)The Governor, with the consent of the Minister, shall establish provisions necessary for the purpose of securing the information transferred to, contained in and transmitted from the database, including provisions on the following matters:
(1)the manner of collection of information and its recording, by the information source, in a manner that ensures the reliability, accuracy and security of the information;
(2)the manner of transfer of the information to the database, the manner of its retention in the database, and the manner of its use and security;
(3)the manner of access to information contained in the database, including the persons authorised to access identified or non-identified information, and the identification means required of a credit bureau for the purpose of using the technological system serving the database, including the performance of operations therein, as well as provisions regarding requests on the said system;
(4)the manner of transfer of identified information to a credit bureau, its retention in the technological system serving the credit bureau, its use, security and deletion.
(d)The Bank of Israel shall hold the credit data database on its premises.

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Chapter X: Operation of a Business Information Service

Licensing of a Business Information Service§

61.
(a)The Commissioner may grant a business information service licence (in this Chapter – licence) to an applicant who satisfies all of the following:
(1)the applicant is a company as defined in the Companies Law, 5759-1999;
(2)the applicant has registered its information database as an information database under the Privacy Protection Law, 5741-1981;
(3)the applicant has furnished a guarantee in accordance with the provisions of section 8;
(4)the applicant, a controlling shareholder therein and an office holder therein have not been convicted of an offence which, by reason of its nature, gravity or circumstances, renders the applicant, in the opinion of the Commissioner, unfit to receive a licence, and no indictment has been filed against any of them for such an offence in respect of which a final judgment has not yet been given;
(5)the applicant is capable of operating a technological system that will minimise the risk of harm to the privacy of customers and the risk of harm to the information security held by the applicant.
(b)The Commissioner shall not grant a business information service licence to an applicant if the Commissioner finds that the conditions referred to in subsection (a) have not been fulfilled, or on grounds of public interest.
(c)If the Commissioner has reasonable grounds to believe that the licence applicant will use the information received other than for the purposes of this Law or will not comply with the requirements under the Law, the Commissioner shall not grant the applicant a licence.
(d)The Governor shall establish provisions regarding the manner of submission of an application for a licence under this section, the particulars to be included therein and the documents to be attached thereto.
(e)The provisions of sections 8 to 11 shall apply, with the necessary modifications, to the licensing of a business information service.

Operation of a Business Information Service§

62.

A business information bureau may, in the framework of the operation of a business information service, collect and hold any information it has lawfully received relating to a customer in the customer's activity as a trader only, including credit data relating to a customer in the customer's said activity (in this Chapter – credit data on a trader), and transmit them to another, all subject to the Regulations established by the Minister under section 64, to the extent established.

Data that a Business Information Bureau is not Permitted to Take into Account§

63.

For the purpose of a credit rating of a trader, a business information bureau shall not take into account data relating to the trader's sex, age, sexual orientation, race, religion, country of origin, nationality, place of residence or marital or health status.

Regulations regarding the Operation of a Business Information Service§

64.

The Minister may establish provisions regarding the operation of a business information service by a business information bureau, including on the following matters:

(1)the type of credit data on a trader that a business information bureau shall not be permitted to collect, hold and transmit;
(2)the information sources from which the business information bureau shall not be permitted to collect credit data;
(3)prohibited uses of credit data on a trader;
(4)the manner of transmission of credit data on a trader.

Retention of Information§

65.

A business information bureau shall retain information it has collected in the framework of the provision of a business information service for a period of at least seven years from the date of receipt of the information.

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Chapter XI: The Commissioner for Credit Data Sharing

Section A: Appointment of the Commissioner and his Functions

Appointment of the Commissioner and his Functions§
66.
(a)The Governor shall appoint a Commissioner for Credit Data Sharing, who shall be an employee of the Bank of Israel.
(b)The Commissioner shall be responsible for credit data sharing under this Law and shall act for the purpose of securing the information, protecting the privacy of customers and safeguarding the interests of customers and users of credit data; the functions of the Commissioner shall include, inter alia –
(1)granting credit data service licences and business information service licences;
(2)supervising and monitoring the operations of credit bureaux and business information bureaux, including with regard to the development of statistical models by the bureaux;
(3)supervising and monitoring the operations of information sources transferring information to the database, of users of credit data and of authorised agents for consideration;
(4)issuing directives, under section 68, to credit bureaux and business information bureaux, to information sources transferring information to the database, to users of credit data and to authorised agents for consideration.
(c)The Commissioner may receive information from the database for the purpose of carrying out the Commissioner's functions under this Law and to the extent required therefor.

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Section B: Registers

Registers§
67.
(a)The Commissioner shall maintain registers as set out below:
(1)a register of credit bureaux;
(2)a register of information sources that transfer information to the database or that have undertaken to transfer information to the database under the provisions of Chapter VI;
(3)a register of users of credit data;
(4)a register of authorised agents for consideration of a type to be determined by the Governor;
(5)a register of business information bureaux.
(b)
(1)In the registers referred to in subsection (a), the Commissioner shall include particulars of credit bureaux, information sources, users of credit data and authorised agents for consideration in respect of whom the Commissioner has prohibited or restricted the transmission of information from the database to them under the provisions of sections 20 or 54;
(2)where credit data have been transmitted from an information source under section 108, it shall be noted in the register referred to in subsection (a)(2) to which credit bureau the information was transmitted.
(c)The registers shall be open for public inspection on the Bank of Israel's website.

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Section C: Directives of the Commissioner

Directives of the Commissioner§
68.
(a)For the purpose of carrying out the Commissioner's functions, the Commissioner may, after consultation with the Advisory Committee appointed under Section D –
(1)issue directives to credit bureaux and business information service bureaux concerning their methods of operation and management, those of office holders therein and all persons employed by them, all for the purpose of fulfilling the objectives of this Law, for the purpose of the proper management of the bureaux, and for the purpose of safeguarding the interests of customers and users of credit data, protecting the privacy of customers and securing the information; such directives may be issued to all bureaux or to a particular category thereof;
(2)issue directives to information sources transferring information to the database, to users of credit data and to authorised agents for consideration, in their operations under this Law, for the purpose of fulfilling the objectives of this Law and for the purpose of safeguarding the interests of customers and users of credit data, protecting the privacy of customers and securing the information; such directives may be issued to all information sources, users of credit data or authorised agents for consideration, or to a particular category thereof.
(b)If the Commissioner intends to issue directives under subsection (a) on a matter in respect of which the Minister or the Governor has authority under this Law to make Regulations or rules, the Commissioner shall notify the Minister or the Governor, as the case may be, of such intention.
Publication of the Commissioner's Directives§
69.
(a)The Commissioner's directives under section 68 and any other directive of the Commissioner under this Law that is of a legislative character need not be published in Reshumot (Official Gazette); however, the Commissioner shall publish in Reshumot (Official Gazette) a notice of the issuance of such directives and of the date of their commencement.
(b)The Commissioner's directives referred to in subsection (a) and any amendment thereto shall be made available for public inspection at the Commissioner's offices and shall be published on the Bank of Israel's website, in a manner that enables tracking of their amendment over time and their documentation, and the Governor may prescribe additional means of their publication.

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Section D: The Advisory Committee regarding the Commissioner's Directives

The Advisory Committee regarding the Commissioner's Directives§
70.
(a)The Governor shall appoint a committee whose function is to advise the Commissioner regarding the issuance of directives under section 68 (in this Section – the Advisory Committee).
(b)The Advisory Committee shall consist of eight members, including at least four women, and its composition shall be as follows:
(1)one shall be a jurist who is a State employee, to be appointed on the proposal of the Attorney General;
(2)one shall be an employee of the Ministry of Finance, to be appointed on the proposal of the Minister of Finance;
(3)one member of the Advisory Committee shall be appointed from among State employees or from the public, and shall be an expert in privacy protection;
(4)five shall be appointed from the public –
(a)two shall be persons in business and economics, or members of the senior academic staff or persons who were members of such staff at a recognised institution within the meaning of the Council for Higher Education Law, 5718-1958, who have experience or education in the field of financial services;
(b)two shall have experience in the field of financial education or experience in social activity in that field;
(c)one shall be an expert in information security or information technologies.
(c)The Governor shall appoint one of the members of the Advisory Committee as chairperson of the Committee and one of them as deputy chairperson.
(d)The Advisory Committee shall convene at the request of the chairperson of the Committee or at the request of the Commissioner, and shall include on its agenda any matter within its authority at the request of the chairperson or the Commissioner.
(e)Three members of the Advisory Committee, including the chairperson or the deputy chairperson, shall constitute a quorum at its meetings.
(f)A person who has been convicted of an offence which, by reason of its nature, gravity or circumstances, renders that person unfit to serve as a member of the Committee, or against whom an indictment has been filed for such an offence in respect of which a final judgment has not yet been given, shall not be appointed as a member of the Advisory Committee.
Conflict of Interests§
71.
(a)A person who is liable to find himself, directly or indirectly, on a regular basis, in a situation of conflict of interests between his function as a member of the Committee and a personal interest of his or another function of his, shall not be appointed and shall not serve as a member of the Advisory Committee.
(b)A member of the Advisory Committee shall refrain from participating in deliberations at meetings of the Committee if the matter under discussion is liable to cause that member to find himself, directly or indirectly, in a situation of conflict of interests between his function as a member of the Committee and a personal interest of his or another function of his; a member of the Committee shall not deal, in the framework of his function on the Committee, with such a matter outside the meetings of the Committee as well.
(c)If a member of the Advisory Committee becomes aware that the matter under discussion is liable to cause that member to find himself in a situation of conflict of interests as referred to in subsections (a) or (b), the member shall notify the chairperson of the Committee of this as soon as possible; if the said member of the Committee is the chairperson of the Committee, the member shall notify the Governor thereof.
(d)For the purposes of this section, it is immaterial whether the performance of the other function is with or without consideration.
(e)In this section –

"personal interest" – includes a personal interest of a relative of the member or an interest of another body in which the member or a relative of the member is an interested party or an office holder;

"relative" – spouse, parent, grandparent, son or daughter and their spouses, brother or sister and their children, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, uncle or aunt and their children, father-in-law, mother-in-law, father-in-law (of a husband), mother-in-law (of a husband), son-in-law, daughter-in-law, grandson or granddaughter, including step-relations, and also another person who is a dependent of the member of the Committee.

Term of Office§
72.

The term of office of a member of the Advisory Committee shall be three years from the date of the member's appointment, and the member may be appointed for one additional such term of office, provided that the member shall not serve for more than three terms of office.

Expiry of Office§
73.
(a)A member of the Advisory Committee shall cease to serve before the end of the member's term of office in any of the following circumstances:
(1)the member resigned by delivering a letter of resignation to the Governor;
(2)the member is permanently incapacitated, in the opinion of the Governor, from fulfilling the member's functions;
(3)the member has been convicted of an offence which, by reason of its nature, gravity or circumstances, renders the member unfit to fulfil the member's functions, or an indictment has been filed against the member for such an offence in respect of which a final judgment has not yet been given;
(4)the Governor has established that the member was absent, without reasonable cause, from three consecutive meetings of the Advisory Committee or from more than half the meetings held in one year; the chairperson of the Committee shall report to the Governor on a member of the Committee who was absent from its meetings as aforesaid;
(5)in respect of a member of the Advisory Committee who is a State employee – the member has ceased to be a State employee.
(b)Where the office of a member of the Advisory Committee has expired, the Governor shall act to appoint a member of the Committee in the member's place, as soon as possible.
Working Procedures§
74.

The Advisory Committee shall determine its working methods and procedures for its deliberations to the extent that they have not been established under this Law.

Preservation of Validity§
75.

The existence of the Advisory Committee, its powers and the validity of its recommendations shall not be affected by reason of a vacancy in the position of a member thereof or by reason of a defect in the appointment or the continuation of service of a member.

Confidentiality of the Committee's Deliberations and Publication of its Decisions§
76.

No person shall disclose anything from the deliberations of the Advisory Committee or from any material transmitted to it, unless the Governor has authorised that person to do so; however, the main points of the recommendations of the Advisory Committee and the minutes of its deliberations shall be published on the Bank of Israel's website, except for the main points of recommendations or minutes of a particular deliberation, or parts thereof, which the Committee, by a reasoned decision in writing to be published on the Bank of Israel's website, has directed shall not be published.

Remuneration and Reimbursement of Expenses§
77.

Members of the Advisory Committee who are not State employees are entitled to remuneration and reimbursement of expenses for participation in the Committee's meetings, at a rate to be determined by the Governor; the said remuneration shall be paid by the Bank of Israel.

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