Payment gateways in Israel: how online card payments work and how to choose a provider
How online card payments work in Israel: acquirers, gateways, fee types, hosted payment pages, 3-D Secure, instalments and wallets, and what to compare.
Part of the guide: How to start an online store: the complete guide, with notes for Israel
To take card payments on a website in Israel you need two things: a merchant agreement with a card acquirer, which lets the business receive money from cards, and a payment gateway, which connects to the site, shows the customer a secure payment form and sends the transaction for approval. Some Israeli providers bundle both. Shopify Payments is not available to businesses in Israel and Stripe does not list Israel as a supported country, so most Israeli stores work with a local provider, sometimes alongside PayPal.
This guide is for Israeli businesses and for foreign brands setting up a local entity or store in Israel. It explains how a transaction moves from the button to the bank account, which fees exist, and what to ask a provider before signing. It does not rank providers or quote prices, because terms depend on the business, its volume and negotiation. The full process of opening a store, of which payments are one step, is in our guide to starting an online store in Israel.
How online card payments work
When a customer clicks “pay” and enters a card, several things happen within seconds, each handled by a different party:
| Party | What it does | What it means for you |
|---|---|---|
| Your site or store | Shows the cart and price and sends the customer to payment. | The platform needs a ready integration with your provider, or development. |
| Payment gateway | Shows a secure payment form, encrypts card details and sends the transaction for authorisation. | Shapes the checkout experience, payment methods and invoicing. |
| Acquirer | The card company or bank you hold the merchant agreement with. Receives the transaction and pays you. | Sets the processing fee and when money reaches your account. |
| Card issuer | The customer’s bank or card company. Approves or declines. | Declines can come from limits, fraud checks or failed authentication. |
| Your bank account | Receives the money, net of fees, on the agreed schedule. | Cash flow: money does not arrive on the day of the sale. |
Some gateways work on top of your own merchant agreement; others let you start processing under theirs, without a separate agreement. Ask every provider which model it uses first, because it changes the fee structure, who you contact when something breaks, and how long setup takes.
Hosted payment page or embedded fields
There are two main ways to show the payment form. Either the customer moves to a payment page hosted by the provider, sometimes styled like your site or opened in a window on top of it, or the card fields are embedded in your own page. For most businesses the hosted page is the right choice: card details never pass through your servers, so less of the security burden falls on you.
The background is PCI DSS, which, according to the PCI Security Standards Council, sets security requirements for every entity that stores, processes or transmits cardholder data, merchants included. Ask each provider what level of compliance it holds and what remains your responsibility on the site. And never ask customers for a card number in an ordinary form, an email or a chat.
3-D Secure
EMV 3-D Secure is a protocol for preventing fraud in card-not-present purchases such as online orders. It passes data between the merchant and the card issuer; for riskier transactions the issuer can ask the customer for extra verification, such as a one-time code, while routine purchases should pass without friction. Ask whether the provider supports it, when it triggers, and how it affects liability for disputed transactions.
What fees to expect
Providers price differently, so compare types of fees, not a single number. Get these in writing:
- Processing fee: a percentage of each transaction, charged by the acquirer or the provider, sometimes varying by card type or for instalment payments.
- Monthly fee: for the gateway, the payment page or the invoicing module.
- Setup or integration fee: sometimes zero, sometimes one-off.
- Per-transaction fee: a fixed amount per transaction, on top of or instead of the percentage.
- Fees for specific methods: wallets, payment apps or recurring billing.
- Refund and dispute fees.
- Platform fee: some platforms, such as Shopify, add their own fee when you use an external provider; see our guide to Shopify stores in Hebrew.
To compare properly, work out the total yearly cost from expected revenue and transaction count, not from the lowest percentage in a table. A low percentage with a high monthly fee can be expensive for a small store and cheap for a large one.
What to compare between payment providers
| What to check | Ask the provider | Why it matters |
|---|---|---|
| Platform integration | Is there an official plugin for our platform, and who maintains it? | Outdated plugins are a common cause of checkout failures. |
| Checkout experience | Does the customer stay on the site, see a window, or leave for an external page? How does it look on a phone? | Every extra step is a place to abandon. |
| Payment methods | Cards, Bit, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal, bank transfer? | Customers pay the way they are used to, or not at all. |
| Instalments | Can customers split payments? Who sets the maximum? Is there a surcharge? | For expensive products it affects the decision. |
| Recurring billing | Are there card-based standing orders and secure card storage (tokens)? | Needed for subscriptions, monthly services and later charges. |
| Invoices and receipts | Are they issued automatically? Do they connect to our accounting software? | Saves manual work after every sale. |
| Security | What PCI DSS level do you hold? Is 3-D Secure supported? | Defines what is your responsibility and what is theirs. |
| Settlement | When does money reach the account, including for instalment sales? | Cash flow. |
| Refunds and disputes | How are refunds made? What happens when a customer disputes a charge? | It will happen; know the process in advance. |
| Support | Who answers when checkout breaks on a Friday afternoon? | A payment outage is lost sales in real time. |
| Exit | Is there a commitment period? Can stored cards be migrated to another provider? | Switching without migrating tokens breaks recurring billing. |
Instalments, Bit and digital wallets
Splitting a card payment into instalments (tashlumim) is a strong Israeli habit, and shoppers look for it on expensive items. Decide the policy in advance: from what price, up to how many payments, and whether the customer pays extra. It is configured with the provider and cannot always be changed from the platform.
Bit, a widely used Israeli payment app, and Apple Pay and Google Pay shorten payment on a phone because nobody types a card number. Support depends on both the provider and the platform: a provider may support Apple Pay on its hosted page but not inside a store’s embedded checkout. Ask to see it working in a test store, on a real phone, before signing.
Payment providers in Israel
Several Israeli providers connect to websites and stores. With no ranking and no recommendation, here are some of them and what their official sites list at the time of writing:
- Cardcom: online processing, payment pages, digital invoices, recurring billing, Apple Pay and Google Pay, Bit and PayPal, and official plugins for Shopify, WooCommerce and WordPress.
- Tranzila: online processing, Google Pay, Apple Pay, Bit and PayPal, digital invoices, recurring billing, and plugins for Shopify, Wix and WooCommerce.
- Grow (formerly Meshulam): online payments, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Bit, invoicing, recurring billing, 3-D Secure, and integrations with WordPress, Shopify, Wix, WooCommerce and Magento.
- PayPlus: a secure payment page on the business’s own domain, Apple Pay, Google Pay and Bit, recurring payments, invoicing, and plugins for Shopify, Wix and WooCommerce.
- Pelecard: online processing, Apple Pay and Google Pay, Bit for business, card-based standing orders, 3-D Secure, invoicing, and plugins for WooCommerce, Shopify, Wix and Magento.
- Hyp: online card processing, secure payment pages, digital invoices, Apple Pay and Bit, and integrations with Shopify, WordPress and Magento.
The list is not complete and capabilities change. Check every point directly with the provider, above all the integration with your platform and what actually works in its checkout.
International providers and an Israeli business
A business following an international setup guide will find that three common options behave differently here. Shopify Payments is not available to businesses in Israel (Shopify’s list of supported countries). Stripe does not list Israel among its supported countries at the time of writing. PayPal operates in Israel with business solutions, and many stores add it next to a local provider, especially when they also sell to customers abroad. A foreign company selling into Israel from abroad can often keep its home-country provider, but it should still check how Israeli shoppers expect to pay, instalments in particular.
Refunds and disputed charges
A refund is money you return, for example when a customer sends a product back. A dispute, or chargeback, is when the customer tells their card company they did not make the purchase or did not receive what they paid for. You will be asked for evidence: order details, proof of delivery, correspondence. Keep these from the start, show the returns policy on the product page and at checkout, and make sure the business name on the customer’s card statement is one they recognise. An unfamiliar name on a statement is a common, avoidable cause of disputes.
Checklist before signing with a provider
- You have every fee in writing: setup, monthly, per transaction, instalments, refunds.
- You have worked out a yearly cost from expected revenue and transaction count.
- You have seen checkout working in a test store on your platform, on a phone.
- The payment methods your customers use work inside the checkout.
- An invoice or receipt goes out automatically and reaches the customer by email.
- You know when money arrives, including for instalment sales.
- 3-D Secure is supported, and you know your responsibilities under PCI DSS.
- The business name on customers’ statements is clear and recognisable.
- You know where support comes from and how fast it responds.
- You have checked exit terms and whether stored cards can be moved to another provider.
Payments are part of a store’s running cost, next to hosting, subscriptions and maintenance; how those fit a budget is in what a business website costs. If you have not chosen a platform yet, choose it before the provider, because the integration between them decides a lot; the comparison is in WordPress vs Webflow vs Shopify.
Where payments meet the customer
In the OVELLE store, a concept we built for a fictional jewellery house, the bag and the move to payment are designed so the customer sees price, shipping and the returns policy before reaching the form. On the HALDE One launch page, a concept for a fictional product, the buy module sits inside the product page itself. Both show the point where payment meets the customer.
At Libra we build stores and websites with payments connected, automatic invoicing and post-purchase email, described on our websites, landing pages and stores page. We are not a payment provider and take no commission from providers, so we help choose by what fits the store. Send a brief with the platform, the kind of products and expected volume, and we reply by email with a direction, a written price and a date.
No term matches.
Questions
What do I need to accept card payments on a website in Israel?
A merchant agreement with a card acquirer, or a provider that lets you process under its own agreement, plus a payment gateway that connects to your site and shows a secure payment form. Choose by platform integration, payment methods, fees and invoicing.
What is the difference between an acquirer and a payment gateway?
The acquirer holds the merchant agreement and pays the money into your account. The gateway is the technology that connects your site to the transaction and shows the payment form.
Does Stripe work in Israel?
At the time of writing, Israel is not on Stripe’s list of supported countries for businesses. Shopify Payments is not available in Israel either, so Israeli businesses use a local provider, sometimes alongside PayPal.
What fees do payment gateways charge?
Usually a percentage per transaction, a monthly fee, sometimes a setup fee or a fixed amount per transaction, and fees for certain payment methods, refunds and disputes. Some platforms add their own fee on top.
Can customers pay in instalments online in Israel?
Yes, most Israeli providers support splitting a card payment into instalments. The policy, such as the maximum number of payments, is set with the provider.
What is 3-D Secure?
A protocol for authenticating the cardholder in online purchases. For riskier transactions the issuer can ask for extra verification such as a one-time code; routine ones pass without friction.
Can I store customers’ card numbers on my site?
Storing, processing or transmitting card data requires PCI DSS compliance. For most businesses it is better to let the provider store the card as a secure token, so card details never touch your servers.
Getting started
Want this for your business?
Send a short brief: three required questions, the rest only if you like. We reply by email with a direction, a written price and a date.
