Sophia
TUPOLEV

UserWay VP of Communications Sophia Tupolev-Luz delivered an impactful talk titled: “AI-Powered Accessibility: Simplifying Compliance and Building an Inclusive Online Experience” at the Future of AI & FinTech Junction 2024 on Monday, July 15th. Visit https://userway.org/ to start your accessibility journey 😊 Follow Us on Social 👣😉 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/UserWay Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/userwayorg/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/UserWayOrg LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/userway TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@userwayorg

Sophia Tupolev-Luz says that banks have to set clear, written explanations of expectations to help immigrants transfer funds from salaries, personal savings, and sales of property abroad - and prove the origin of their funds. Although the Bank of Israel has issued binding guidance to Israel's banking sector, banks have not implemented the guidance and immigrants continue to face barriers accessing banking services in Israel.

Credit: i24 News

The Fair Banking Project continues to advocate for the removal of barriers in the banking system for immigrants to Israel.

The Challenge: As a result of the war between Russia and Ukraine, over 100,000 people have attempted to resettle in Israel since February 2022. They brought their families, businesses, and professional skills intending to build their new life outside of former Soviet Union countries. For 18 months, these immigrants (not under sanctions) have been largely unable to bring their assets to Israel, chiefly, proceeds from sales of property, personal savings, corporate funds, and thus build their new lives in Israel. The barriers are a result of Israeli banks implementing a “zero-risk blanket policy” in an attempt to prevent fines and scrutiny from the US government. The implementation of this “blanket” policy prevents transfer of valid and legal funds from Russia, Ukraine and Belarus to Israel and is counterproductive to the US declared policy to drain Russia from its brain power and funds. A 2023 survey of hundreds of immigrant families revealed that: 93% were refused bank services verbally without a written explanation. 61% reported unresolved challenges with money transfers to Israeli banks. 1 in 3 were refused bank services, 25% of which were not given a reason other than the fact that they are former Russian citizens. Systemic Barriers - Banks Lack Updated Guidance to Serve Immigrant Clients: In an attempt to handle compliance risk through a “blanket” policy, when serving clients from the former Soviet Union, banks have not produced clear or unified guidelines to manage the compliance risk of new U.S. sanctions. This leads to unjustified and automatic denials of banking services, and barriers for legitimate businesspeople, displaced professionals, and immigrants who are also newly Israeli citizens. As a result of receiving official guidance, banks will be free to create specific solutions including the following: An initial list of documents for customers, required for transfers of funds in different situations; A secondary list of documents that may be requested at the bank’s discretion connected to specific regulatory compliance; Setting out timelines required by law for requests and responses; A list of valid reasons for refusals of services; An official appeals process for customers to correct errors or dispute refusals; Guidelines for depositing relatively small amounts of cash up to $10,000 (the amount that can be brought across the border undeclared) Banks must also be required to make online banking interfaces fully available in English (including mobile apps). The establishment of a consumer protection bureau - real time assistance in languages other than Hebrew.

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We are a community of tech leaders welcoming newly displaced professionals to Israel from Ukraine and the region. Over the last few weeks, the tech community in Israel has taken concrete steps to hire displaced people. Visit www.reboot-startupnation.com to join this cause.