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
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Chapter V: Establishment of Credit Data Database and its Purposes
Establishment of the Credit Data Database and its Purposes§
16.
(a)The Bank of Israel shall establish an information database that will include credit data received from information sources pursuant to the provisions of Chapter VI; in addition, the information database shall include data regarding applications for the correction of information submitted pursuant to Chapter VIII as well as data regarding customers' access to the database pursuant to the Law.
(b)The database shall serve the following purposes only:
(1)the transfer of credit data to credit bureaux regarding a specific customer for the purpose of preparing a credit report, including for the purpose of providing services based on credit data, or providing a credit indication regarding a specific customer in accordance with the provisions of Sections B and C of Chapter VII, or for the purpose of their transfer to an authorised agent for consideration in accordance with the provisions of Section E of that Chapter;
(2)the transfer to a customer of information about that customer, in accordance with the provisions of Section D of Chapter VII;
(3)the creation of a non-identified information base to serve the Bank of Israel for the purpose of carrying out its functions pursuant to the Bank of Israel Law, in accordance with the provisions of section 44;
(4)the creation of a non-identified information base to serve credit bureaux for the purpose of developing statistical models for providing a credit indication and services based on credit data, in accordance with the provisions of section 45.
(c)The technological system that will serve the database shall prevent, as far as possible and having regard to accepted technological alternatives which shall be examined from time to time, the risk of harm to customers' privacy and the risk of harm to information security in the database, and shall be designed and updated in consultation with the Head of the Privacy Protection Authority.
Database Manager§
17.
The database shall be managed by an employee of the Bank of Israel appointed by the Governor.
Privacy Protection Commissioner§
18.
(a)The Governor shall appoint a Privacy Protection Commissioner who shall be an employee of the Bank of Israel.
(b)The functions of the Privacy Protection Commissioner shall be –
(1)to advise the database manager on the subject of implementing the provisions of the Privacy Protection Law and the guidelines of the Head of the Privacy Protection Authority, including the definition of information as non-identified information;
(2)to advise the Commissioner regarding the investigation of public complaints concerning harm to privacy;
(3)to advise the database manager regarding examinations and the conduct of surveys to identify risks of harm to customers' privacy;
(4)to formulate a training programme for all those employed in the operation of the database in connection with the protection of privacy;
(5)to report to the Governor on the risks and failures identified in connection with the protection of privacy in the database and to recommend the measures to be taken in connection therewith; a report pursuant to this paragraph shall be submitted to the Governor in the first two years from the commencement date as referred to in section 123 – once per quarter, and thereafter – at least once per year;
(6)to report to the Head of the Privacy Protection Authority if the Privacy Protection Commissioner becomes aware that a material harm to privacy has occurred.
(c)Nothing in the provisions of this section shall derogate from the Governor's authority to assign to the Privacy Protection Commissioner other functions in the Bank of Israel, provided that they relate to the protection of privacy in the Bank of Israel.
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Contact Us →Chapter VI: Transfer of Information to the Database and its Retention
Transfer of Credit Data to the Database by Information Sources§
19.
(a)The following information sources shall transfer credit data to the database for the purpose of their inclusion therein:
(1)the Official Receiver;
(2)the enforcement offices;
(3)the Bank of Israel;
(4)the courts;
(5)the Electric Company;
(6)the Postal Bank; for this purpose, "Postal Bank" means the subsidiary as defined in the Postal Law, 5746-1986;
(7)banking corporations;
(8)payment instrument issuers;
(9)an authorised source that provides retail credit at an annual volume as determined by the Governor with the consent of the Minister and the Minister of Finance or on the proposal of one of them; however, in examining the annual volume of an institutional body, as defined in the Financial Services Supervision Law (Insurance), 5741-1981, loans granted to members or insured persons against the funds of members or insured persons shall not be taken into account.
(b)The credit data that information sources shall transfer pursuant to subsection (a) shall be as determined by the Minister with the consent of the Governor and the Minister of Finance, and subject to the following provisions:
(1)the data to be transferred by the Bank of Israel shall be data concerning whether the customer is a restricted customer or a severely restricted customer, as those terms are defined in the Cheques Without Cover Law, 5741-1981;
(2)the data to be transferred by the court shall be data concerning a restriction order made pursuant to section 7 of the Companies Law;
(3)the data to be transferred by the Electric Company shall be data concerning payments for electricity consumption.
(c)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) and (b)—
(1)the Minister, with the consent of the Governor and the Minister of Finance or on the proposal of one of them, may determine that an information source listed in subsection (a) in respect of which conditions that the Minister shall determine are met shall not be required to transfer credit data to the database;
(2)with respect to the Electric Company—the Minister, the Governor or the Minister of Finance may determine that it is not required to transfer credit data to the database.
(d)
(1)An authorised source may transfer credit data, as determined by the Minister, to the database, with the consent of the Governor and the Minister of Finance or on the proposal of one of them;
(2)the Minister, with the consent of the Governor and the Minister of Finance or on the proposal of one of them, may determine additional information sources that shall be entitled to transfer credit data as determined by the Minister to the database, if the Minister has found that there is a need for this in order to achieve the purposes of this Law listed in section 1(a), provided that the addition of information sources is not required solely for the purpose of achieving the purpose listed in paragraph (4) of that section.
(e)Without derogating from the provisions of subsection (a)(9), the Minister, with the consent of the Governor, may determine that a source from among the information sources listed in subsection (d) shall be required to transfer credit data to the database, as provided in that subsection.
(f)An information source shall take appropriate measures to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the credit data it transfers to the database pursuant to this section; the Commissioner may direct measures to ensure such accuracy and reliability.
(g)The Commissioner shall direct the manner of transferring credit data to the database pursuant to this section and the time for their transfer, and may set detailed provisions regarding the credit data to be transferred, all subject to Regulations determined by the Minister pursuant to subsections (b) and (d).
(h)Regulations determined by the Minister and rules determined by the Governor pursuant to this section require the approval of the Committee.
Prohibition of or Restriction on the Transfer of Credit Data to the Database§
20.
The Commissioner may prohibit or restrict the transfer of credit data to the database by an information source, if the Commissioner has found that this is required in order to safeguard the purposes of this Law and where exceptional circumstances exist; having done so, the Commissioner shall publish a notice thereof to the public on the Bank of Israel's website and in any additional manner determined by the Governor.
Retention of Credit Data in the Database§
21.
(a)The Bank of Israel shall retain in the database alone the credit data transferred to the database from information sources pursuant to section 19.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), the Bank of Israel may refrain from retaining in the database credit data transferred from a particular information source, if the Bank of Israel has found that the information source did not take appropriate measures to ensure the accuracy and reliability of the credit data in accordance with the provisions of section 19(f), or that it did not take measures for information security in accordance with the provisions pursuant to section 60 or 68, or if other exceptional circumstances exist.
Customer's Request for the Non-Inclusion of Credit Data Concerning the Customer in the Database§
22.
(a)A customer may request from the Bank of Israel that credit data concerning the customer not be included in the database (in this section—a request for non-inclusion of data).
(b)Where a customer has submitted a request for non-inclusion of data, the Bank of Israel shall not retain in the database credit data concerning the customer that are transferred to the database after the date of submission of the request, and shall delete from the database the identifying particulars of the customer included in the credit data concerning the customer that are in the database at the date of submission of the request, except for identifying particulars as aforesaid that are included in credit data that were provided to a credit bureau pursuant to Chapter VII before the said date, which shall be retained in the database for documentation purposes only in accordance with the provisions of section 23; the deletion of identifying particulars pursuant to this subsection shall be effected in a manner such that it will no longer be possible to link the credit data from which the identifying particulars have been deleted to the customer.
(c)Where a customer has requested from the Bank of Israel to withdraw a request for non-inclusion of data, the Bank of Israel shall retain in the database the credit data concerning the customer that are transferred to the database after the date on which the customer made such request.
(d)Where a credit bureau has requested from the Bank of Israel to receive credit data from the database concerning a particular customer, and there are no credit data in the database concerning the customer due to a request for non-inclusion of data that the customer submitted, the Bank of Israel shall notify the credit bureau accordingly, and the bureau shall inform the credit data user thereof.
(e)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsections (a) and (b)—
(1)where credit data that are published by law or other credit data that clearly indicate that the customer is not meeting the repayment of payments the customer has undertaken have been transferred to the database by an information source, all as determined by the Minister with the consent of the Governor and with the approval of the Committee (in this subsection—data concerning non-repayment), the customer shall not be entitled to submit a request for non-inclusion of data until the end of three years from the date of the transfer of the data as aforesaid (in this subsection—the restriction period);
(2)where data concerning non-repayment have been transferred to the database by an information source after the customer submitted a request for non-inclusion of data, the Bank of Israel shall retain in the database, from the date of the transfer of the said data to the database onwards, notwithstanding the submission of the request, all credit data concerning the customer that are transferred to the database; the customer shall be entitled to request that, from the end of the restriction period onwards, credit data concerning the customer not be included in the database.
(f)Where the provisions of subsection (e) apply to a customer, the Bank of Israel shall notify the customer who submitted a request for non-inclusion of data thereof, and shall also notify the customer, before the end of the restriction period, of the customer's right to again submit a request for non-inclusion of data.
(g)Requests by a customer pursuant to this section shall be submitted in the manner determined by the Governor with the approval of the Committee, and the Governor may set time limits for the processing of such requests.
Period of Retention of Information in the Database§
23.
(a)The Bank of Israel shall retain the information in the database detailed in section 16(a) for a period of ten years from the date on which it was transferred to the database; upon the expiry of three years from the date of the transfer of the information to the database, the retention for the remainder of the period shall be for documentation purposes only (in this section—the documentation period).
(b)A credit bureau, a credit data user or a paid attorney-in-fact may receive from the Bank of Israel, upon their request, during the said ten-year period referred to in subsection (a), the data retained in the database as referred to in that subsection, that were previously provided to them pursuant to Sections B to E of Chapter VII, if the data are required by them for one of the following, provided however that the provisions of this subsection shall not derogate from the right of the customer to receive the said data pursuant to Section D of Chapter VII:
(1)legal proceedings between them and the customer, provided that the said proceedings are connected to the information that was provided and that the customer has been given notice of the request to receive the data as aforesaid;
(2)supervision or oversight carried out pursuant to law;
(3)other purposes determined by the Minister with the approval of the Committee.
(c)Upon the expiry of the documentation period, the Bank of Israel shall delete from the database the identifying particulars of the customer relating to the information in respect of which the said period has expired, in a manner such that it will no longer be possible to link the said information to the customer.
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Contact Us →Chapter VII: Access to Information in the Database and Uses of Information
Section A: General Provisions
Disclosure of Information from the Database§
24.
No information shall be disclosed from the database and no access to information as aforesaid shall be granted except to the entities listed in this Chapter, for the uses set out therein and in accordance with its provisions.
Exclusivity of Use§
25.
(a)A person who has received credit data included in the database or a credit indication, pursuant to the provisions of this Chapter, shall use them only for the purpose for which they were requested.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a), a credit bureau may use credit data received from the database also for the purpose of providing services based on credit data.
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Contact Us →Section B: Credit Report
Conditions for the Transfer of Credit Data for the Purpose of Preparing a Credit Report§
26.
(a)Credit data concerning a customer shall not be transferred pursuant to the provisions of this Section from the database to a credit bureau and from a credit bureau to a credit provider, unless all of the following conditions are met (in this Section—the conditions for the transfer of data for the purpose of preparing a credit report):
(1)the credit data are required by the credit provider for the purpose of entering into a credit transaction with that customer or for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the conditions of the transaction;
(2)the credit provider is an information source that transfers credit data to the database pursuant to Chapter VI with respect to all customers for whom it has credit data, or has undertaken to transfer credit data as aforesaid in the manner and at the time directed by the Commissioner, provided that the time directed by the Commissioner for the transfer of the data shall not exceed one year from the date on which data from the database were provided to the credit provider, unless the Minister, with the consent of the Governor, has determined a different period;
(3)the credit provider is not a low-risk credit provider; for this purpose, "low-risk credit provider" means a trader who provides credit in connection with the sale of an asset or the provision of a service, for short periods or in low amounts, as determined by the Minister in consultation with the Governor;
(4)the customer has given express consent for the credit data concerning the customer that are included in the database to be provided to a credit bureau for the purpose of preparing a credit report to be provided to the credit provider, and for such consent to remain in force until the date of completion of the credit transaction or until an earlier date, at the customer's choice; the customer's consent as aforesaid shall be given only with respect to a particular credit transaction.
(b)Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection (a)(2), the Minister, with the consent of the Governor, may determine that credit providers of a type to be determined shall be entitled to request a credit report from the credit bureau even if they do not transfer or undertake to transfer credit data to the database.
(c)The Minister, in consultation with the Governor, shall prescribe provisions regarding the manner of giving express consent by the customer as referred to in subsection (a)(4) and regarding the manner of proving the existence of the conditions for the transfer of data for the purpose of preparing a credit report.
(d)Regulations determined by the Minister pursuant to this section require the approval of the Committee.
Request by a Credit Provider to Receive a Credit Report from a Credit Bureau§
27.
A credit provider may request from a credit bureau to receive a credit report concerning a customer, containing credit data concerning that customer that are included in the database, for the purpose of entering into a credit transaction with that customer or for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the conditions of the transaction, provided that the conditions for the transfer of data for the purpose of preparing a credit report are met.
Request by a Credit Bureau to Receive Credit Data from the Database for the Purpose of Preparing a Credit Report§
28.
Where a request to receive a credit report concerning a customer has been submitted to a credit bureau, as referred to in section 27, and the conditions for the transfer of data for the purpose of preparing a credit report are met, the bureau may, for the purpose of preparing the report, request from the Bank of Israel to receive credit data concerning that customer that are included in the database.
Disclosure of Credit Data from the Database for the Purpose of Preparing a Credit Report§
29.
Where a request to receive credit data concerning a customer has been submitted to the Bank of Israel, as referred to in section 28, the Bank of Israel shall provide the credit bureau with credit data concerning the customer that are included in the database.
Customer's Request that Credit Data Concerning the Customer Not Be Disclosed from the Database§
30.
(a)A customer may request from the Bank of Israel that credit data concerning the customer that are included in the database not be disclosed for the purpose of preparing a credit report pursuant to the provisions of this Section (in this section—a request for non-disclosure of data); the Minister may determine that a request for non-disclosure of data may be submitted with respect to particular credit providers or with respect to credit providers of a particular type, and may prescribe conditions for such a request.
(b)Where a customer has submitted a request for non-disclosure of data, the Bank of Israel shall not disclose credit data in accordance with the request, for as long as the customer has not withdrawn the request and asked the Bank of Israel to disclose the credit data concerning the customer, all even if the credit provider has received the customer's consent as referred to in section 26(a)(4).
(c)Where a credit bureau has requested from the Bank of Israel to receive credit data from the database concerning a particular customer, and the customer has submitted a request for non-disclosure of data, the Bank of Israel shall notify the credit bureau accordingly, and the bureau shall inform the credit provider thereof.
(d)Requests pursuant to this section shall be submitted in the manner determined by the Governor with the approval of the Committee, and the Governor may set time limits for the processing of such a request.
Notice to a Customer Regarding the Provision of a Credit Report§
31.
(a)A credit provider who has received a credit report for the purpose of entering into a credit transaction with a customer, or who has received a credit report for the purpose of ensuring compliance with the conditions of a credit transaction entered into and has worsened the conditions of a customer's credit transaction, shall immediately notify the customer thereof and shall provide the customer with the particulars of the credit bureau from which the credit report was received.
(b)The Minister, with the approval of the Committee, may prescribe provisions regarding the duty of providing a credit report received pursuant to subsection (a) from the credit provider or from a credit bureau to the customer, and may prescribe conditions for such provision.
Credit Report for a Person Who Is Not a Credit Provider§
32.
The Minister, with the consent of the Governor and with the approval of the Committee, may, if the Minister has found that this is required for the purpose of achieving the purposes of this Law, determine that a person who is not a credit provider shall be entitled to receive from a credit bureau a credit report, subject to conditions to be determined by the Minister, provided that the customer's consent has been given as referred to in section 26(a)(4) and subject to the provisions of section 30; where the Minister has so determined, the provisions applicable to a credit provider entitled to receive a credit report shall apply to the person so determined, with the necessary modifications and with such modifications as the Minister may determine.
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