Money in Israel

SECURITY DEPOSIT

All students are required to pay a $120 or 450 NIS security deposit, which is paid during the first week of semester. Students are required to bring a check payable to the “Arava Institute.” The check will be held as security and returned to students at the end of the semester if all check out conditions are meet.

In addition to the security deposit, students should bring some money for extra spending, including trips to town, weekend traveling, and day-to-day shopping at the kibbutz store.

BANK ISSUED DEBIT CARDS

We recommend this as probably the cheapest and most efficient way to arrange finances. You can access money from your bank account from automatic teller machines (ATMs) in Israel, provided that they are on the same network. The most common international network on ATMs in Israel is Cirrus. Please note: if your personal identification number is more than 4 digits, it will not work in Israeli ATMs. The closest ATM is 10 minutes drive at the Yotvata shopping center.

CREDIT CARDS

Major credit cards such as MasterCard, and Visa are widely accepted in Israel and American Express cards are also accepted but less frequently. MasterCard and Visa cards can be used to withdraw money from Israeli banks.