Tellers

Summary

Tellers work in bank branches and assist customers with simple financial transactions.

Quick Facts: Tellers
2010 Median Pay	$24,100 per year $11.59 per hour
Entry-Level Education	High school diploma or equivalent
Work Experience in a Related Occupation	None
On-the-job Training	Short-term on-the-job training
Number of Jobs, 2010	560,000
Job Outlook, 2010-20	1% (Little or no change)
Employment Change, 2010-20	7,300

What Tellers Do

Tellers are responsible for accurately processing routine transactions at a bank. These transactions include cashing checks, depositing money, and collecting loan payments.

Work Environment

Most tellers work in bank branches. About 27 percent of tellers have a part-time schedule.

How to Become a Teller

Most tellers have a high school diploma and get about 1 month of on-the-job training. Some banks do background checks before hiring a new teller.

Pay

The median annual wage of tellers was $24,100 in May 2010.

Job Outlook

Employment of tellers is projected to experience little or no change, growing 1 percent from 2010 to 2020. However, job prospects are expected to be excellent because many workers leave this occupation.

Similar Occupations

Compare the job duties, education, job growth, and pay of tellers with similar occupations.

O*NET

O*NET provides comprehensive information on key characteristics of workers and occupations.

Contacts for More Information

Learn more about tellers by contacting these additional resources.

What Tellers Do About this section

Tellers verify a customer’s identity and financial information before processing a transaction.

Tellers are responsible for accurately processing routine transactions at a bank. These transactions include cashing checks, depositing money, and collecting loan payments.

Duties

Tellers typically do the following:

• Count the cash in their drawer at the start of their shift
• Accept checks, cash, and other forms of payment from customers
• Answers questions from customers about their accounts
• Prepare specialized types of funds, such as traveler’s checks, savings bonds, and money orders
• Exchange dollars for foreign currency
• Order bank cards and checks for customers
• Record all transactions electronically throughout their shift
• Count the cash in their drawer at the end of their shift and make sure the amounts balance

Tellers are responsible for the safe and accurate handling of the money they process. When cashing a check, they must verify the customer’s identity and make sure that the account has enough money to cover the transaction. When counting cash, a teller must be careful not to make errors.

Tellers also seek out customers who might want to buy more financial products or services from the bank, such as certificates of deposits (CDs) and loans. When they think a customer is interested, tellers explain the products and services the bank offers and refer the customer to the appropriate sales personnel.

In most banks, tellers record account changes by using computer terminals that give them easy access to the customer’s financial information. Tellers also can use this information when recommending a new product or service.

Head tellers manage teller operations. They do the same tasks as other tellers as well as some managerial tasks, such as setting work schedules or helping less experienced tellers. Because of their experience, head tellers may deal with difficult customer problems, such as a customer questioning an error with an account. Head tellers also go to the vault (where larger amounts of money are kept) and ensure that the rest of the tellers have enough cash to cover their shift.

Work Environment About this section

Most tellers work in bank branches.

Tellers held about 560,000 jobs in 2010.

Most tellers work in bank branches. They sit at a computer station and interact with customers from behind a glass partition. Some banks are experimenting with new formats that allow the teller to more closely interact with a customer by changing the place of the teller station or removing the glass barrier.

Work Schedules

Most tellers work full time, Monday-through-Friday work schedules. Some tellers work on Saturdays. About 27 percent work part time, which is more than the average for other administrative and support occupations.

How to Become a Teller About this section

A teller needs to have basic math skills.

Most tellers have a high school diploma and get about 1 month of on-the-job training. Some banks do background checks before hiring a new teller.

Education

Tellers usually must have a high school diploma or equivalent. A few tellers have some college experience, but a degree is rarely needed for a job applicant to be hired.

Training

Tellers usually have a brief period of on-the-job training, typically lasting about 1 month. Normally, a head teller or another experienced teller trains them. A new teller may also need to learn the computer software that their bank uses and the financial products and services the bank offers.

Advancement

Experienced tellers can advance within their bank. They can become a head teller or move into another supervisory position. Some tellers can advance to other occupations, such as loan officer. They can also move to sales positions. For more information, see the profile on loan officers.

Important Qualities

Basic math skills. Because they count and handle large amounts of money, tellers must be good at arithmetic.

Customer-service skills. Tellers spend their day interacting with bank customers. They must be friendly, helpful, and patient. They must be able to understand what customers are looking for and explain the customers’ options.

Detail oriented. Tellers must be sure not to make errors when dealing with customers’ money.

Pay About this section

The median annual wage of tellers was $24,100 in May 2010. The median wage is the wage at which half the workers in an occupation earned more than that amount and half earned less. The lowest 10 percent earned less than $18,730, and the top 10 percent earned more than $32,650.

Most tellers work full time, Monday-through-Friday work schedules. Some tellers work on Saturdays. About 27 percent work part time, which is more than the average for other administrative and support occupations.

Job Outlook About this section

Employment of tellers is projected to experience little or no change, growing 1 percent from 2010 to 2020.

Past job growth for tellers was driven by a rapid expansion of bank branches, where most tellers work. However, the growth of bank branches is expected to slow because of both changes to the industry and the fact that certain areas now have an abundance of banks.

Additionally, online and mobile banking allows customers to handle many of the same transactions as tellers do. As more people use online banking, fewer bank customers will visit the teller window. This will result in decreased demand for tellers.

Job Prospects

Job prospects for tellers should be excellent because many workers leave this occupation.

Contacts for More Information About this section

For general information on the banking industry, visit

American Banking Association