Transaction export, view-only access, an institution code and financial data access - what to ask the bank before opening a business account, and why it is settled then.
Key takeaways
- Monthly workload is set by export format and permissions, not by fees.
- An export with no stable reference per transaction is unusable for automated reconciliation.
- View-only access for an accountant removes the manual sending of statements.
- Direct debit collection and supplier payment runs are not a bank service alone - they need an institution code.
- Since the Financial Information Service Law, account data can be obtained through a supervised provider under the conditions the law sets.
A business account is nearly always chosen on fees and branch location, and only later does it emerge that exporting transactions, giving the accountant view-only access or uploading a payment file is what decides how many hours a month finance operations will cost. Those questions are easy to ask before opening and painful afterwards.
Why this is usually asked too late
An owner opens the account when the business is small, and everything is manual anyway: look at the balance, make a transfer, send the accountant a statement each quarter. None of the digital capabilities are needed, so nobody asks about them.
They become necessary exactly when the business grows - a hundred transactions a month, three people who need to see something in the account, and recurring monthly collection. At that point switching banks is a project: standing orders, collection arrangements, suppliers holding the account details, and debit authorisations to re-establish. Which is why it is worth asking at the start about things not needed yet.
Transaction export: the format is what decides
Every bank lets you download transactions. The difference is what is in the file:
- Format - is it CSV or genuine Excel, or a PDF that merely looks like a table. A PDF is not data.
- Reference - does each transaction carry a stable identifier that does not change between downloads.
- Full description - does the counterparty name appear in full or truncated.
- History range - how far back one request can export.
- Value date against posting date - are both in the file or only one.
- Encoding - does Hebrew in the file open correctly in Excel without handling.
The field most often overlooked is the reference. Without it there is no way to know whether a transaction appearing today was already ingested yesterday, and any reconciliation process built on top will duplicate rows. It is also the difference between a daily bank reconciliation that takes ten minutes and half a day at month end.
Permissions: who sees what, and who signs
A business account has two entirely different things called "authorisation": who may view, and who may charge the account.
| Type | Usually for | What to check |
|---|---|---|
| View only | Accountant, bookkeeper | Whether it exists at all, and at what level of detail |
| Export only | Accounting system | Whether it is possible without transaction rights |
| Action up to a ceiling | Partner, operations manager | Whether the ceiling is by amount or by action type |
| Second signature | Owner | Whether required on every action or above an amount |
The common gap: there is no separate view permission, so to let the accountant see the account they are handed the owner's login. That creates both exposure and an inability to know who did what, and it is precisely the question worth asking at opening.
What goes through the bank and what goes through מס"ב
Monthly collection from customers and supplier payment runs are not ordinary bank actions. They go through מס"ב (Masav, the banks' clearing centre), and for that the business needs an institution code - an identifier issued by the bank where the collecting entity's account is held, and only then can the entity be set up at מס"ב. Masav describes this path on its customer charging service page.
The practical implication for "which bank": not every branch handles an institution code request at the same speed, and not every bank offers the same way to submit the file. Ask up front whether submission is through Masav's software, the bank's site, or an interface - because that decides whether a payment run is a one-minute action or a fifteen-minute one.
What the Financial Information Service Law changed
The Financial Information Service Law, 5782-2021, came into force on 14 June 2022 and regulates the supply of financial information from information sources - banks and credit card companies - to supervised service providers, with the account holder's consent. For corporate accounts whose turnover does not exceed five million shekels a year, the access obligation applied from the end of January 2023.
What that means for a business: there is a regulated route to obtaining account data without sharing passwords, through an entity operating under licence and supervision. What it does not mean: that every bank supplies every kind of data for every use. The practical depth is in business account data and open banking in Israel.
What to ask at the opening meeting
- Is there a CSV export with a unique reference per transaction, and how many months back.
- Does a view-only permission exist, and how is it issued to the accountant.
- What is the process and timeline for an institution code, and who at the branch handles it.
- How is a payment run submitted - software, website, or interface.
- Is there a second signature above an amount, and how is it done when the owner is abroad.
- What happens to every permission and standing order if the branch changes.
Six questions, one meeting. The answers will not be identical between banks, and the difference between them is worth more than any gap in the monthly fee.
What switching banks after two years actually costs
The reason to ask at the start is that a move is not a banking action but an operational project. What has to move, one by one: the institution code and the Masav setup, every direct debit mandate customers established, the account details held by every supplier and every customer who pays by transfer, outgoing standing orders, and the permissions of everyone allowed to view or act.
None of those is hard on its own, and together they are two months in which some money lands in the old account and some in the new - so both have to stay open and two reconciliations run in parallel. A business collecting from a thousand customers by direct debit will not make that move over a fee, however justified the fee. Which is exactly why the questions at the opening meeting are worth more than they look at the time.
How long does it take to set all of this up?
Opening the account itself is usually one meeting. What takes time is what follows - the institution code, the Masav setup, and user permissions - and each depends on a different party. So the right order is to open the account and immediately start the institution code request in parallel with standing up the systems, not after it.
Sources
Frequently asked questions
Can you run two accounts at two banks?
Yes, and it is common - for instance one account for collection and one for payments. The price is double reconciliation at month end, so it is justified when there is an operational reason and not merely to spread risk.
What is the difference between value date and posting date in an export?
The posting date is when the transaction was recorded in the account, and the value date is when it counts toward the balance calculation. When reconciling against an internal system you must decide which one you work by, because the two are not always the same.
Is an institution code needed to pay suppliers too?
An institution code is required to operate against Masav, and that includes payment runs submitted as a file. A single transfer through the bank's website does not require one, so a business paying five suppliers a month can manage without it.
Is it acceptable to give my accountant my login details?
It is a question of exposure and of being able to tell who did what in the account. The operational answer is a separate view permission in their name, and if the bank does not offer one, that itself is a point of comparison between banks.
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About the author
Yehonatan Saadia
Freelance automation, web & MVP developer
I'm Yehonatan Saadia, a senior developer who builds business automation, custom websites, and MVPs for small and mid-sized companies across the US, Europe, and Israel. These guides come from real client work, not theory.
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