Israel's first new bank in more than 40 years has started trial operations, opening accounts and providing services for a small, closed number of clients, The First Digital Bank said in a statement. The fully digital bank, approved by the Bank of Israel in 2019, hopes to open up services to the wider public toward the end of the year, the statement said. Currently the bank has started offering services to employees and their families – several hundred people -- to make sure everything runs smoothly, a spokeswoman for the bank said. Get The Start-Up Israel's Daily Start-Up by email and never miss our top stories Free Sign Up "The artificial intelligence revolution is here and has now reached banks as well," said the founder of the bank, tech entrepreneur Amnon Shashua. "The banking industry is thirsty for innovation and competition."