Credit Card War in Israel Sparks Aggressive Sales Tactics and Unwanted Deliveries
Fierce competition in Israel's credit card market has led to aggressive sales tactics. After inquiring about a card, a Tel Aviv consumer faced relentless calls and an unwanted delivery.
The credit card market in Israel has turned into a fierce battleground following El Al's high-profile decision to drop CAL (Israel Credit Cards) after a 12-year partnership and award its lucrative Fly Card loyalty program to Isracard in a 10-year exclusive agreement valued at over 1 billion shekels. CAL, refusing to surrender one of the country's most coveted customer clubs, fought back legally before settling for a 70 million shekel compensation package. Unfazed, CAL partnered with Issta to launch Flyool, a competing card allowing points accumulation across various airlines, sparking an aggressive customer acquisition war. Isracard responded with heavy promotions, joining a frantic race intensified further by Israir and Rami Levy.
However, this unbridled competition has increasingly trapped ordinary consumers in high-pressure sales tactics. Zohar, a Tel Aviv resident, found herself targeted by relentless calls, text messages, and an unwanted credit card delivery simply because she made a casual inquiry about Isracard's Fly Card.
"I thought about getting a Fly Card, and they just constantly harassed me," Zohar recalled. "They sent offers, called me, and at one point I gave my details to someone. But I didn't even have a valid ID for verification. Afterward, I reconsidered and thought, what do I need this for? I had this card before and got nothing out of it. Unfortunately, I don't fly abroad much."
Despite deciding against the card and leaving the verification incomplete, Zohar's rejection was ignored by the system. The calls and text messages continued daily for an entire month, urging her to complete the order.
"Then suddenly I got an SMS saying the card was on its way. Congratulations, it's coming to you soon. I said, what? But I never agreed to this!"
Frustrated, Zohar tried calling the customer service number to cancel the shipment, but encountered an unhelpful representative who claimed he could not even locate an active card issuance in the system before abruptly hanging up the phone.
Even after explicitly texting the courier company "Not interested, thanks" and "Return to sender," the delivery attempts persisted. On September 23, Zohar received another notification stating that the Isracard delivery was scheduled for her home address in Tel Aviv, requiring an original and valid ID for receipt—the exact document she had previously informed them she lacked.
"What else do I have to do to say I don't want this card? Good grief," she expressed in frustration. Competition between credit card companies is supposed to benefit consumers, not turn them into hostages of aggressive sales targets.
In response, Isracard stated: "Regrettably, due to human error, there was a delay in processing the customer's request to cancel the card. We apologized to her, and immediately upon clarifying the matter, the card was cancelled. We regret the inconvenience caused and will draw the necessary lessons from this incident."
