Bank of Israel Unveils Design for Potential Digital Shekel

The Bank of Israel has released a high-level design for a potential digital shekel (DS), inviting public feedback on the proposed central bank digital currency (CBDC). While no decision has been made on its issuance, the design marks a significant milestone in Israel’s CBDC exploration, which began in 2017.

The digital shekel would serve both retail and wholesale purposes, accessible to the entire public, including children, tourists, businesses, and financial institutions. Like cash, it would function as a universal payment method, enabling immediate and final transactions, including offline payments.

The CBDC would be free for private users and cheaper than existing digital payment options for businesses. It would also support interoperability with other payment systems, allowing seamless transactions between digital shekels and bank accounts.

Yoav Soffer, Digital Shekel Project Manager, stated, “The Bank of Israel has not yet decided to issue a digital shekel, but it is important to prepare and deepen our understanding of the system’s components.”