The work

A bank cashier is responsible for dealing with customers accounts face-to-face at the counter. They pay in cheques, pay cash in and out, answer questions and use a computerised customer system to complete the tasks.

They are also involved in daily routines and administrative jobs such as opening post, sending out correspondence and balancing tills at the end of the day, to check the right amounts of money have come in and gone out.

Banking is a fast-moving, technological industry. In the last decade, there have been major changes in the services and products offered by financial organisations, including banks.

The main reasons are:
advances in technology, providing streamlined administration and electronic customer services, eg cash machines and internet banking
competition from building societies, insurance and retail companies
customers expecting 24-hour access to their accounts and a wider range of services.
Because of this, a cashier needs good knowledge of all these services and products, from using cash machines and internet banking to mortgages and loans.

In some branches, they spend time working on the customer services desk. They may help customers complete application forms for an account or loan, provide detailed information from their account or know who on the staff a customer can see about more specialised subjects such as share dealing or will writing.

Hours and Environment

Normal bank opening hours are Monday to Friday, 9am to 5pm, although smaller branches sometimes open fewer hours. Larger branches usually open Saturday mornings, often with a reduced level of staff. Cashiers may have to work outside these hours for administrative duties such as cashing-up.
Bank staff usually work in modern, open plan offices. Cashiers work behind a counter and glass screens when dealing with customers payments. The customer service desk though is usually more informal, and in the customer browsing area of the branch. CCTV operates in all banks, so the working area is constantly observed.

Cashiers are provided with uniform in most banks.

If there is more than one branch in a town or area, they may sometimes work in a different branch for a short period.

Skills and Interests

As a bank cashier, you should:

• be able to communicate with a wide range of people
• be able to work as part of a team
• be honest and reliable
• have numeracy skills and the ability to handle cash accurately
• pay attention to detail
• be confident selling and marketing products to customers
• have computer skills
• respect confidentiality.

Entry

There are no set upper age limits for bank work. Many banks encourage mature entrants with previous experience of working in finance and with the public.

• Although there are no set entry qualifications to work in a bank, they sometimes require any degree and four Olevel/S grades (A-C/1-3), including English and maths. The right personal qualities are usually as important as the academic qualifications.

Training

Banks normally provide their own comprehensive in-house training schemes for new starters. As part of your training and development, you may also be able to work towards a nationally-recognised qualification.

With experience, you can take qualifications to develop your career into other areas, particularly mortgage advice, financial advice or accountancy (see other relevant profiles for more details).

To progress to become a bank manager, you will need to take the IFS BSc (Hons) in Financial Services and Associateship. This is a joint programme that awards a degree qualification and Associate membership of the Chartered Institute of Bankers. You can study through block release or distance learning. To enter, you will usually need to have passed an IFS Diploma-level course. Please see the Bank Manager profile

Opportunities

Bank head offices are situated in the city. Opportunities also exist in regional processing and call centres, where there is no face-to-face customer contact, head office departments and international divisions of the bank overseas and investment banks.

Advances in technology and development of electronic services for customers has resulted in the closure of some smaller branches and this trend may continue. Competition from other financial organisations means that banks must continuously evaluate customer needs and develop services which help them to retain and increase their customer base annual Income

Further information