Only a few compounds have been completely characterized as stabilizers in alkaline electroless nickel‑boron plating and most of them have serious impact on health or the environment. In this paper, the effects of bismuth salts on the bath stability and characteristics of electroless NiB deposits obtained from an alkaline electroless nickel bath reduced by borohydride are presented. The objective of this paper is to propose a healthy and environmental friendly electroless NiB coating. The process of production was maintained the same as traditional NiB to facilitate the industrial adaptation. Bismuth accelerates the rate of deposition up to 10−5 mol/L and inhibits plating from a concentration of 0.01 mol/L. The bismuth ions in the NiB bath act as stabilizer but some bismuth also co-deposits with the nickel‑boron coating, leading to a coating with 3 wt% bismuth. The coating presents a homogeneous surface morphology with a 15.11 μm/h plating rate in agitated and non-replenished bath. The X-ray diffraction patterns of electroless NiB coatings stabilized by Bi3+ exhibit a single broad peak, indicating a strong tendency to form amorphous structure. The coatings present the typical high hardness of NiB coatings (830 hv50), with a relatively smooth surface. The wear behavior was characterized by ball-on-disc tests and a friction coefficient of 0.45 is obtained after 100 m of test with 5 N charge and an alumina ball. Scratch test results show the first damage after 16 N. NiB-Bi coatings have impressive properties and can replace lead stabilized electroless NiB in different fields.