# PayBox

> Source: https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/paybox
> research date 2026-05-29 · extracted at 2026-10-06
> Publisher: Barcoder — encyclopedia of QR, barcode and payment-code standards

Specifications:
- [PayBox — official](https://paybox.co.il/)
- [PayBox — Wikipedia](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PayBox)

## Overview

**PayBox** is **Israel's secondary mobile P2P + social-payment app**, competing primarily against **[Bit](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/bit)** in the Israeli P2P-mobile-payment duopoly <sup>[1][1], [2][2], [Israel report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/IL)</sup>. PayBox was **launched 2014 by PayBox Ltd** (founded by **Tal Greenberg (CEO), Udi Lieberman, David Rahamim, Imri Heppner**), then **acquired by Israel Discount Bank (IDB) in 2017** <sup>[2][2]</sup>. As of **October 2025**, PayBox has **2+ million active users + 3.5+ million downloads + 1+ million monthly different users** — substantial but smaller than [Bit](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/bit)'s 3.5M customers + 90% market share.

The structural distinction: PayBox is a **social payment application that facilitates peer-to-peer money transfers, group collections, and payments to businesses** — with **group-collection functionality particularly distinctive vs Bit's individual-P2P focus**. PayBox has operated at **NIS 250M cumulative losses** (vs Bit's NIS 700M) — both Israeli P2P apps operate on strategic-loss-leader models. **Israel Discount Bank says payments app PayBox not affected by startup folding** (per Times of Israel) — referring to PayBox Payment Solutions Ltd shutting down (a separate entity) while the consumer-facing PayBox app continues operating under IDB. **April 2024 — PayBox launches three-tiered model to expand digital wallet** + **PayBox allows users to receive interest on money in their account** — both significant feature expansions positioning PayBox as Israel's first full-digital-bank competitor on its P2P-app foundation.

## History

**2014 — PayBox Ltd founded** <sup>[2][2]</sup>:
- Tal Greenberg (CEO), Udi Lieberman (VP Marketing), David Rahamim (VP Operations), Imri Heppner (VP Technologies).
- Initial P2P + social-payment proposition.

**2017 — Acquired by Israel Discount Bank (IDB)** <sup>[2][2]</sup>:
- Becomes IDB's P2P-mobile-payment platform.
- Competes against [Bit](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/bit) (Bank Hapoalim).

**2018 — 1.5M+ users** <sup>[2][2]</sup>:
- Significant scale.

**Subsequent — Discount Bank's digital strategy** [[google-cloud]]:
- PayBox as part of IDB's broader digital transformation.

**June 2023 — 3.5M+ downloads, 1M+ monthly different users** <sup>[2][2]</sup>:
- Substantial growth.

**Interest-on-money feature** [[jpost]]:
- PayBox allows users to receive interest on money in their account.

**Three-tiered model expansion** [[jpost2]]:
- PayBox launches three-tiered model to expand digital wallet.

**October 2025 — 2M+ active users** <sup>[2][2]</sup>:
- Current scale.

**PayBox Payment Solutions Ltd (separate entity) closure** [[ctech]]:
- Israel Discount Bank confirms PayBox app continues operating despite separate entity closure.

## Technical specification

PayBox is **Israel Discount Bank's social P2P-and-payment app** <sup>[1][1], [2][2]</sup>:

| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| **Operator** | **Israel Discount Bank** (since 2017 acquisition) |
| **Founders (2014)** | Tal Greenberg, Udi Lieberman, David Rahamim, Imri Heppner |
| **Currency** | NIS (Israeli new shekel) |
| **Active users (Oct 2025)** | 2M+ |
| **Downloads** | 3.5M+ |
| **Monthly distinct users** | 1M+ |
| **Channels** | Mobile app (iOS + Android) |
| **Identifier** | Phone contact list, QR code |
| **Distinctive features** | **Group collections** + interest-on-money |
| **Cumulative loss (~)** | NIS 250M |

**Group-collection feature** <sup>[2][2]</sup>:
- Multi-person collection workflows.
- Particularly useful for shared expenses, group gifts.

**Interest on money** [[jpost]]:
- Users earn interest on PayBox-balance funds.
- Banking-feature evolution.

**Three-tiered model** [[jpost2]]:
- Expanded digital-wallet tiering.

## Use cases

**P2P transfers** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: Cardinal use; ~10 % Israeli P2P-app market share.

**Group collections** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: Distinctive feature — multi-person collection workflows.

**Merchant payments** <sup>[2][2]</sup>: Business-payment integration.

**Interest-earning on balance** [[jpost]]: Banking-feature.

**Discount Bank digital strategy** [[google-cloud]]: Part of broader IDB digital ecosystem.

## Implementations & ecosystem

**Operator**: **Israel Discount Bank (IDB)** (since 2017).

**Founders**: Tal Greenberg + Lieberman + Rahamim + Heppner.

**Major competitor**: **[Bit](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/bit)** (Bank Hapoalim, 90% market share).

**Companion**: Broader Israel Discount Bank digital products.

## Fun facts

- **2014 founding by 4 founders**: Substantive founding team.
- **2017 IDB acquisition**: Bank purchase of independent fintech P2P app.
- **Group-collection USP**: Distinctive social-payment feature.
- **NIS 250M cumulative losses**: Strategic loss-leader (vs Bit's NIS 700M).
- **Interest-on-money**: Banking-feature evolution distinguishing from pure P2P.
- **PayBox Payment Solutions Ltd separate entity closure**: Caused confusion — but IDB clarifies consumer app continues.
- **10% Israeli P2P-app market share** (vs Bit's 90%): Bit-PayBox duopoly defining Israeli P2P.
- **Three-tiered digital-wallet model**: Recent product evolution.

## Comparison

| Feature | PayBox (IL) | [Bit](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/bit) (IL competitor) | [Venmo QR](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/venmo-qr) (US) | [Bizum](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/bizum) (ES) | [Wero](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/standards/wero) (EU) |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Operator | Israel Discount Bank | Bank Hapoalim | PayPal | Bizum SL | EPI |
| Launch | 2014 (2017 IDB acquired) | ~2017 | 2009 (founded) | Oct 2016 | Jun 2024 |
| Users | 2M+ | 3.5M+ | ~80M US | 24M | New |
| Market share (P2P apps) | ~10% IL | 90% IL | ~50% US | ~70% ES | n/a |
| Distinctive feature | **Group collections + interest** | Cross-bank reach + first IL digital wallet | Social feed | Universal merchant | Pan-European |

## Status

**Active, IDB-owned** <sup>[1][1], [2][2]</sup>:
- **Israel Discount Bank operator** since 2017.
- **2M+ active users** (Oct 2025).
- **Group collections + interest-on-money** features.
- **Three-tiered digital-wallet model**.

## Sources

[1]: https://paybox.co.il/ "PayBox — official"
[2]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/PayBox "PayBox — Wikipedia"
[ctech]: https://www.calcalistech.com/ctech/articles/0,7340,L-3839257,00.html "PayBox Payment Solutions shutting down — CTech"
[jpost]: https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/banking-and-finance/article-745462 "PayBox interest on money"
[jpost2]: https://www.jpost.com/business-and-innovation/article-871354 "PayBox three-tiered model"
[google-cloud]: https://cloud.google.com/customers/discount-bank "Discount Bank case study"

- [1] [PayBox — official][1]
- [2] [PayBox — Wikipedia][2]
- <sup>[Israel report](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/IL)</sup> `reports/countries/IL-israel.md`

## Deployments

Found in the following country reports (grep across `reports/countries/`):

- **IL** — [IL-israel.md](https://docs.barcoder.ai/docs/payments/IL)