What Israeli new shekel actually arrives in Israel when someone sends Australian dollars, at the live mid-market rate. We explain the process; we never recommend a provider.
| They send (AUD) | You receive at mid-market (ILS) |
|---|---|
| 500 AUD | 1,069 ILS |
| 1,000 AUD | 2,139 ILS |
| 2,000 AUD | 4,277 ILS |
| 5,000 AUD | 10,693 ILS |
Mid-market equivalents, not transfer quotes - the sender’s provider deducts its margin and any fees before the money reaches you. STRUCK 11:00 AEST · TUE 13 OCT.
A small country on the eastern Mediterranean packed with ancient history and modern tech, Israel holds the lowest dry land on Earth and cities sacred to three world religions.
A white field with two horizontal dark sky-blue stripes and a blue Star of David at the centre. The Flag and Emblem Law of 1949 does not describe the flag: it defines it by referring to the proclamation the Provisional Council of State made in 1948, which sets the design out in centimetres and assigns it no meaning. The design is conventionally read as evoking the tallit, the Jewish prayer shawl, and the Star of David is a long-standing Jewish symbol.
A continent pretending to be a country - Australia is the only nation that fills an entire continent, with most of its 27 million people clinging to the coast while the red-dirt interior does its own thing.
A blue field with the Union Jack in the canton, a large white seven-pointed Commonwealth Star below it, and the five white stars of the Southern Cross at the fly. Six of the big star's points stand for the states and the seventh for the territories; the Southern Cross marks Australia's place in the southern sky.
The new shekel is a freely traded currency with a deep market behind it, unusual among its neighbours. It is also the circulating currency in the Palestinian territories, so a shekel transfer does not by itself say where the money is going to land.
The exchange rate is set on the sending side - by the service the sender chooses in Australia - so the most useful thing a receiver can do happens before the transfer: share the live mid-market rate on this page so the sender can judge the margin in their quote. How the money arrives in Israel determines any local receiving charges - bank-to-bank transfers can pass through intermediary banks that deduct handling fees.
Sending rather than receiving? The sender’s view of this corridor covers the same rate from the other side. The AUD/ILS converter page handles any amount. Receiving money from overseas explains the process end to end.
The Bank of Israel supervises two payment systems, and it says in its own review of them that foreign currency does not travel on either. Transfers in foreign currency, that document records, are made through the banking corporations, the Postal Bank and currency exchange service providers across the country, over a range of messaging and payment infrastructures. So arriving money reaches an Israeli bank by one route and is credited by another, and the two have different characteristics. The regulator draws that distinction itself, in its own published review.
The real-time system the Bank of Israel launched at the end of July 2007 settles shekel payments individually and finally, and it keeps hours. The Bank publishes its opening times for bank customers: quarter to eight in the morning until quarter to seven in the evening on regular business days, closing at two in the afternoon on short ones. Payments made in it cannot be cancelled and the recipient can use the funds immediately.
An Israeli account number is written domestically in three parts, and the registry SWIFT maintains as registration authority for ISO 13616 gives the worked example as 10-800-99999999. Each part is zero-padded to a fixed width on its way into the IBAN, which is the step that catches people out: in that same example the bank becomes 010, the branch stays 800 and the account becomes 0000099999999, making a three-digit bank identifier, a three-digit branch identifier and thirteen digits of account. A recipient reading a statement has the right components in the right order, but not yet the right number of digits. The Bank of Israel registered the 23-character format with effect from July 2007.
Sources: Bank of Israel, overview of the payment systems in Israel · Bank of Israel, the real-time gross settlement system · SWIFT, IBAN Registry, Release 102, June 2026
How much Israeli new shekel will I receive in Israel?
A little less than the mid-market figures above. The service the sender uses in Australia sets the rate and fees; local receiving banks in Israel can also apply their own charges depending on how the transfer arrives.
The sender asked for my details - what will they need?
Whatever their transfer service asks for on the receiving side - typically your full legal name and local bank account details in Israel. Give the name exactly as your bank records it; mismatches are the most common reason a transfer is delayed.
Why did I receive less than the rate on this page suggests?
Retail rates are set away from the mid-market midpoint by a margin the provider keeps. Comparing a quote against the reference rate on this page is what makes that margin visible, since it is rarely stated as a fee. On a bank-to-bank transfer an intermediary bank can also deduct a handling charge in transit.