Israel money · Money in Israel
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Money in Israel
Money in Israel
The Israeli currency is the New Israeli Shekel (NIS). Colloquially, it is called a shekel (plural: shkalim) or sha-ch. Each shekel is divided into 100 agorot. The common symbols for the shekel are ש״ח or ?.
The following banknotes are in circulation:
NIS 20 (green), NIS 50 (violet), NIS 100 (brown), NIS 200 (red). Newer NIS 20 notes are made of polypropylene and are almost impossible to break or tear.
Paying with large notes for small charges is frowned upon.
Coins in use:
10 Agorot (copper), 1/2 Shekel (copper), 1 New Shekel (nickel), 2 New Shkalim (nickel), 5 New Shkalim (nickel), 10 New Shkalim (bi-metallic; copper core, nickel rim).
ATMs are available everywhere. Credit cards of all kinds are widely accepted. Note that the showing of the Visa logo by an ATM does not especially mean it takes all types of Visa cards, at the moment the ones with Chip-and-Pin technology seem to be only accepted by Bank Leumi ATMs.
You can get VAT refunds when leaving the country, though be prepared to queue at the airport. Additionally, VAT refunds are only available for individual receipts in excess of 400 shekels. Eilat is a VAT-free city for citizens as well as for foreigners, but being a resort city it is often more expensive to begin with.
US Dollars are accepted in some tourist locations, particularly Jerusalem, at a rough exchange rate of 4 NIS to the dollar. If you are asked for dollars or euros outright, you are most likely being ripped off.
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Israel Travel Guide from Wikitravel. Many thanks to all Wikitravel contributors. Text is available under Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 3.0, images are available under various licenses, see each image for details.