How can you quickly transfer foreign currency between two accounts at Bank Leumi?
This guide presents the practical differences between two options available at Bank Leumi for transferring foreign currency between two accounts that are both managed at Bank Leumi, and provides step-by-step instructions for executing the transfer in the transfer system found by us to be the faster one, as of October 2026, while addressing important highlights regarding beneficiary identification and beneficiary account settings.
Warning: The information presented here is to the best of our knowledge, and is current as of October 2026. Anyone wishing to use it should verify it with Bank Leumi, at least a number of banking business days before requesting to make such a foreign currency transfer.
At Bank Leumi, to the best of our knowledge, there are two options for transferring foreign currency between two accounts that are both held within Bank Leumi. These systems operate in different ways.
To the best of our knowledge, the slower system, as of October 2026, is by choosing a general foreign currency transfer, and then choosing a “within Leumi” foreign currency transfer. This system routes the customer’s instruction to the foreign trade department. Based on our experience, the handling of such an instruction may take place even hours after it is submitted for execution.
The faster system is the system of selecting the category “Foreign currency transfer within Leumi” as the first action choice, rather than the action of “Executing a payment in foreign currency.”
The transfer system between accounts within Leumi, which is the faster one, may require obtaining the beneficiary’s customer number at Bank Leumi from the beneficiary. This is a number that must be used to replace the beneficiary’s account number as their identifier in the transfer. The customer number at Leumi can be found in the beneficiary’s banking identity card, and it may differ by one digit—the last one—from the account number. The beneficiary can also request it from the banker serving them.
In the transfer system, which to our knowledge is the faster one, we are not aware, as of October 2026, of an option to choose a beneficiary from a list of beneficiaries. Therefore, in order to ensure there are no errors in the beneficiary account details, it is recommended to keep a Bank Leumi confirmation with the appropriate details, which the beneficiary provided to the payer beforehand.
In the fast system, an amount is displayed that is ostensibly only a cap for entering a transfer order, whereas our experience is that the actual amount that can be transferred is the current available balance for use, in the currency of the transfer. It is important to designate the correct currency on this screen as the currency from which the transfer is made. Please note that you must select the transfer currency, which is the currency intended to be transferred.
Below are screenshots explaining how to enter an instruction for a foreign currency transfer between two accounts at Bank Leumi, in the transfer system that to our knowledge is the faster one:
In the first step – you must choose “To execute an action” from the menu on the right
In the second step – you must choose the category “Foreign currency and international trade”
In the third step – you must choose the action “Foreign currency transfer within Leumi”, and you must not choose the action “Execute a payment in foreign currency”
In the fourth step – manual entry of transfer details, without choosing from a list of beneficiaries, and possibly using a customer number instead of an account number, as the beneficiary account identifier for receiving foreign currency
At this stage, you must select the currency from which funds are being transferred, and manually enter the beneficiary’s details. Please note that it may be necessary to enter the beneficiary’s customer number, which may differ from the account number by the last digit. The customer number is located on the banking identity card, or can be obtained from a banker at Bank Leumi serving the beneficiary.
After entering the instruction, it may be necessary to ask a banker at the branch to enter approval for it, while drawing attention to the fact that this is a transfer within the Leumi foreign currency transfer system, which is executed without the direct involvement of the International Trade Department.
Important: A beneficiary may see the foreign currency receipt in their account only if the specific currency in which they are receiving a balance was “set up” for them in the period preceding the transfer. If the currency was not “set up” in the beneficiary’s account with a positive balance shortly before the execution of the transfer, then it may only appear on the next business day, and not on the day of the transfer. It is possible that a beneficiary can ask a Leumi banker to “set up” a currency in their account ahead of receiving a foreign currency receipt, so that it will appear on the day of the transfer.
It is recommended that the beneficiary verify with the Leumi banker serving them that the receipt will not be converted into shekels upon receipt, but will remain in the original currency.
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