Bank Hapoalim Sells Its 20% Stake in Israeli Consumer Credit Firm Blender Pay
Bank Hapoalim has decided to sell its entire 20% stake in Blender Pay, a subsidiary of Blender specializing in consumer credit at points of sale. The bank has informed the controlling Aviv family, which owns 51% of Blender, about its decision. The family is currently considering two options: purchasing the bank's stake through Blender itself in a deal valued at several million shekels, or bringing in a new investor to replace Bank Hapoalim.
Blender, traded on the Tel Aviv Stock Exchange with a market value of 76 million shekels and managed by Gal Aviv, holds the remaining 80% of Blender Pay. Established in 2022 as a joint venture between Bank Hapoalim and Blender, Blender Pay initially received a credit line of 120 million shekels from the bank, which was later expanded. Bank Hapoalim had an option to increase its share to 51%, subject to antitrust approval, but has now chosen to exit the investment, reportedly to focus more on direct credit activities rather than point-of-sale credit.
Blender Pay offers immediate loans to customers at the time of purchase via a technology system that performs credit checks and approves loans in real time. Customers can split purchases of thousands of shekels into up to 48 installments with interest, without using their credit card limits. The company has primarily targeted the student population so far.
Blender itself, which went public in 2021, has been shifting its business model in recent years. It operated mainly in peer-to-peer (P2P) lending and selling credit technology to financial institutions. In June, Blender sold a P2P loan portfolio worth 38 million shekels to Bank Leumi, leaving an active loan portfolio of 268 million shekels. Investors have requested to redeem about 60 million shekels from this portfolio.
Blender was a pioneer in Israel’s P2P lending market, offering investors higher returns than bank deposits while charging management fees. However, the recent sharp rise in interest rates increased the attractiveness of bank deposits and money market funds, reducing demand for P2P investments and complicating new investor recruitment. Consequently, Blender announced in January it would stop issuing new P2P loans and cease raising new investor funds, focusing instead on gradually liquidating parts of the loan portfolio to accelerate investor repayments while continuing to manage the existing portfolio.
