A new initiative by Bank Mizrahi-Tefahot offers a one-off grant of NIS 1,000 to parents of children to fund after-school activities, as part of a Bank of Israel framework requiring banks to provide benefits to customers and amid the strain on family budgets. The move comes against the background of findings from a new survey indicating that for the absolute majority of parents, the expense of after-school activities constitutes a heavy financial burden, yet one they are unwilling to forgo.
A survey commissioned by the bank and conducted via the Geocartography Research Institute among 500 parents of children up to the age of 18 indicates that about 70% of all parents in Israel enrolled their children in at least one after-school activity. Alongside this, 91% of respondents testified that this expense significantly burdens the ongoing family budget. Despite the difficulty, 83% of parents noted that they prefer to cut back on other expenses such as leisure, restaurants, vacations, and clothing rather than having to prevent their children from participating in after-school activities.
The NIS 1,000 grant is intended for bank customers with current accounts opened by the end of September 2026. To be eligible for the benefit, it is required that in each of the months of June, July, and August 2026, at least NIS 4,000 entered the account from salary, allowances, or other income, and that purchases of at least NIS 1,500 were made monthly using a bank credit card.
The benefit will be granted once per account regardless of the number of children, and it will be limited to the first 10,000 accounts that register on the bank’s website with the required documentation starting on Sunday and until supplies last.
Mizrahi-Tefahot CEO Moshe Larry addressed the move and said, “Our worldview at Mizrahi-Tefahot is to create a supportive umbrella for the bank’s customers, and to be there for them at every major junction in their lives.” Larry added that the benefit joins a series of previous steps led by the bank, including the New Beginnings deposit, the growth boost for businesses, a mortgage holiday, and dedicated benefits for reserve-duty student soldiers, with the aim of providing a response to real needs in the current reality of life.
The Bank of Israel framework was born following the record profits of the banking system, which reached approximately NIS 30 billion in 2024. In light of these figures, the Bank of Israel demanded that the banks return to the public a cumulative amount of NIS 3 billion over two years, distributed as NIS 1.5 billion each year.
The framework went into effect on April 1, 2025, with the Bank of Israel setting the budget that each bank must allocate according to its market share and profitability, while leaving bank managements the freedom of action to choose the manner of distributing the funds to their customers, households, and small businesses.
The framework established by the Bank of Israel divided the benefits into four main baskets: Current accounts and deposits, mortgages, overdrafts, and commissions, with each bank formulating a different mix of benefits.
