Teller

Job overview
Tellers, at a bank or building society, process clients?' ?financial transactions.

What do people do in this job?
Bank or building society tellers, together with enquiries clerks, have the most contact with the public of all the staff there.

They cash cheques, process deposits or withdrawals from savings accounts, and provide businesses with change.

They sometimes receive instalments on hire-purchase transactions, and handle foreign and travellers?'? cheques.

Cash must always be counted very accurately.

When a deposit is received the tellers must check if the deposit slip is filled in correctly, after which the cash is deposited, counted and checked to ensure that it corresponds with the amount on the deposit slip.

Most banks and building societies use computer terminals to process withdrawals.

Tellers start working before, and sometimes continue long after, public banking hours.

It is then that they have to count the cash received during the day and write on an assurance sheet exactly how much money they received and how much they paid out and finally balance the day's transactions.

What kinds of people are suitable for this career?
Tellers must be able to communicate clearly, must have tact and be mature, neat, courteous and above all, honest.

Although tellers work independently, strict supervision is maintained over their documentation.

They should feel at ease with figures.

What qualifications are needed?
Good school-leaving results, particularly in mathematics.

On joining a bank tellers will be required to follow in-service training courses.