Bank Teller Job Description

What is a Bank Teller?

Most understand what a bank teller is and the job that the person does. A bank teller handles the day-to-day financial transactions for customers. They may include money transfers, money orders, deposits and withdrawals, and checking transactions.

A bank teller must demonstrate a well-rounded understanding of the bank he or she works for, its systems, its policies, and arguably the most important ability – how to both count money and be responsible with it.

Job Responsibilities of a Bank Teller

A bank teller is typically responsible for providing the first impression for a bank. They are often responsible for making the customer feel safe, answering pertinent questions, and promoting the bank’s services. The goal is to provide the customer with excellent service so that the customer continues to use the bank for all of his or her financial needs.

Bank tellers may also be responsible for:

• Filling out paperwork/deposit and withdrawal slips
• Overseeing ATM deposits and withdrawals
• Answering the phones
• Balancing numbers at the end of the business day

Education and Skills

To be hired as a bank teller, the primary educational requirement is a high school diploma or GED. In order to be trusted with the most basic of duties, the teller needs to possess a basic education.

Perhaps the most important qualifications for being hired as a teller in a bank are excellent basic math skills (the ability to accurately count out cash/balance transaction data) and excellent people skills.

Again, bank tellers work with money on a daily basis. Their skills with numbers need to be spot-on, and their accuracy needs to be trustworthy. Obtaining at least a partial college education makes a candidate more likely to be hired. However, when individuals possess a college degree – especially one that relates to math, accounting, or another area of finance – they tend to be fast-tracked to a managerial position within a bank.

People skills are also critical for bank tellers. They are, as discussed above, responsible for the first impression that a customer receives when using a bank. Thus, they need to be able to communicate information about the bank and available services in a concise and friendly way.

Training

Training for bank teller jobs can start well before the individual is hired by a bank. Working in any retail environment where cash is exchanged and register work is required is excellent training for someone looking to work in a bank.

The majority of a teller’s training, however, is done on the job. For the first several weeks after being hired, the new employee is trained by the individuals at the bank he or she is hired by. While basic math and register skills can be used liberally, each bank will likely follow its own policies and systems of counting out, handing over, and recording transactions. Therefore, a teller must get specialized training at whatever financial institution employs him or her.

Additional Resources

CFI offers the Commercial Banking & Credit Analyst (CBCA)™ certification program for those looking to take their careers to the next level. To keep learning and advancing your career, the following resources will be helpful:

• Banking Certifications
• Job Titles in Banking and Finance
• Savings Account
• Top Banks in the USA
• See all career resources