A teller is responsible for disbursing cash, taking deposits and opening/activating accounts. They are also tasked with cashing checks, handling loan payments and investigating fees. While discharging their duties, bank tellers are expected to be quick, accurate and above all friendly.
Their customer management skills maintain is key to the growth of the bank. Ability to work with different people and to sit for long hours is needed apart from financial experience and education.
Primary Responsibilities
- Opening and maintaining different accounts (e.g. savings and checking).
- Processing routine account transactions
- Helping customers fill out the various banking slips (e.g. the deposit and withdrawal slips).
- Disbursing money to customers after validating their account details especially photo identification
- Arranging the received monies according to denomination
- Stamping the deposit and withdrawal slips as well as helping the customers at the drive-through window.
- Identifying transaction mistakes when records not balance as well as resolving discrepancies in customers’ accounts
- Collecting loan and utility payments, cash checks, traveler’s checks and money orders
- Updating customers on the latest foreign currency policies and fees
- Handling foreign currency exchange
- Counting and verifying and posting armored car deposits
- Counting cash before and after the shift, balancing currency, cash and checks in cash drawer
- Computing service charges, interest and other financial fees
- Ordering cash depending on daily needs
- Performing clerical tasks ranging from filing, photography to typing
- Communicating bank statements to customers via mail
- Issuing checks to bond owners (mainly in settlement of transactions)
- Attending banking trade fairs, workshops and training as instructed
- Carrying out any other duties assigned to them by the supervisor
Academic Requirements
- Must have at least a high school diploma or equivalent
- Bachelor’s degree in banking, accounting or any other related field is an added advantage.
Experience
- Must be at least 18 years old (i.e. must be an adult)
- A previous clerical experience is preferred
- Some accounting background may be required in some instances
- 3-5 years of teller experience can lead to promotion to the position of Financial Advisor, Loan Officer or even the Branch Manager
- Some banking institutions may demand a drug test
Skills and Abilities
- Must be computer literate since their work is predominantly computer based
- Must have good customer support skills and be patient when handling people
- Must have good communication skills to best serve the customers and other staff
- Should be highly organized, have multitasking skills especially when they have to serve customer and receive official call at the same time
- Must be someone who can handle pressure and meet targets
- A fast thinker, decision maker and a problem solver (especially when dealing with discrepancies in customers’ accounts)
- Must possess strong mathematical skills
- Should have integrity and be honesty
- Must be energetic i.e. able to rise early and work long hours
The position of bank teller is a highly demanding one. First, the incumbent is expected to handle lots of cash with high levels of accuracy and also resist the temptation to steal cash. Therefore, the employers must give more weight to a person’s traits and abilities when hiring.
