Bank Hapoalim Settles Lawsuit Over Trading App Data Delays

The Haifa District Court has approved a settlement agreement in a representative lawsuit against Bank Hapoalim, leading the plaintiff to withdraw their claim filed last year. Under the terms of the agreement, the bank is obligated to rectify deficiencies identified in its stock trading application and will pay the plaintiff 36,000 shekels, plus 150,000 shekels plus VAT to the plaintiff's attorneys.

The lawsuit centered on two main issues: the bank's website and trading app presented some data as real-time when it was actually delayed by 15 minutes, and where delays were noted, the information was in small, inconspicuous font. The settlement mandates that within 90 days, the bank will implement a clock icon next to securities with 15-minute data delays and a green circle icon for real-time data on its website, both clearly marked and explained.

In the application, a notice about data delays on the main screen will be updated to specify that Israeli securities data is real-time, while foreign securities data is delayed by 15 minutes. This clarification will appear on every screen within the app, including for clients not currently receiving real-time Israeli data.

Additionally, Bank Hapoalim has agreed to notify clients about these changes and streamline the process for subscribing to its paid real-time data service for three foreign exchanges (New York, NASDAQ, and OPRA). This subscription will now be available directly through the app, in addition to the website.