How to Become a Bank Clerk

A bank clerk is an entry-level position for a candidate of a private or public bank where aspiring candidates have to take care of all the primary tasks and manage customers and their queries and demands without any hassle. Individuals who opt for a career as bank clerks also ensure compliance with KYC (Know Your Customer) guidelines by the RBI to prevent a data breach. A Bank clerk responsibilities also include managing and taking care of the customer's data and services. Bank clerks handle customers' requirements during the passing of cheques, customer data updates, and withdrawing slips in a bank. 

The role of clerk in bank is to maintain customers' accounts and update them whenever the requirement arises and provide notification about the schemes issued by the banks to their customers. Bank clerk job description also includes directing customers to bank-related facilities like opening an account, passbook updates, applying for a loan, integrating accounts through net banking, credit card or debit card issue, and many more.

Manage customers

Individuals who opt for a career as bank clerks support clients by referring them to banking or accounting staff. For instance in a large queue, sometimes these professionals ask the customers of their needs and with whom they want to meet and also inform the banking staff about the customer. Basically they work as a bridge between the customers and the banking professionals.

Assisting customers

Individuals who opt for a career as bank clerks handle payment processing and offers assistance and backup to maintain favourable customer relationships. Such waiting time of payments could vary from withdrawals and deposits to loan recovery. They can decrease the waiting time of the customers by helping them in the transaction process.

Managing financial Information

Individuals who opt for a career as bank clerks assist in banking activities such as scanning and checking customer documents throughout the credit application process, they also deliver appropriate financial information for loan and credit decision making to loan managers or financial professionals.

Cash management

Bank clerks maintain accurate documents to guarantee their cash drawers during their office hours. Some of them monitor the daily cash transactions and also keep detailed records of cash transactions in a particular bank. Therefore they play one of the significant parts in handling the cash.

Financial data management

Bank clerks are responsible for entering and updating the client's financial data based on the Bank's computer systems. Individuals who opt for a career as bank clerks can change the customer's personal details or even delete customers from bank statements while closing their accounts.

Here are some of the types of a bank clerks and bank clerk job descriptions depending on their varying roles and responsibilities. 

Interest Clerk: The bank officer's job as an interest clerk is to record the amount of interest owed to the saving accounts of the bank’s customers. Not only that, but their duty also includes making records of the amount of interest owed to the bank from loans and other investments. The job of an interest clerk is very important for the proper functioning of the bank as they maintain records of interest owed by the bank and interest owed to the bank, interest being the major source of a bank’s revenue. 

Loan Clerk: There are several activities involved in the process of giving out loans by the bank. A bank officer who is serving as a loan clerk is responsible for the activities related to loan processing, including preparing, auditing, as well as finalizing forms or contracts. A loan clerk job also involves doing a background check of the person or organization that has applied for a loan, it is important to ensure the creditworthiness of the loan applicant in order to avoid losses.

Statement Clerk: A statement clerk prepares the monthly balance sheets after checking the account of every customer. His or her job is to provide bank statements to customers. Not just that but a statement clerk is also responsible for taking care of account-related inquiries as well as solving discrepancies if there are any.

Exchange Clerk: An exchange clerk works on international accounts in a bank. These types of bank clerk job details include translating foreign currency into Indian Rupee and converting Indian Rupee into the required foreign currency. If the foreign exchange clerk has the means and ability then he or she can become the owner of his or her own foreign exchange company.

Security Clerk: The bank officer's job as a security clerk in banks is to maintain records, maintain files, and look after several investments like stocks and bonds. A security clerk keeps all the information recorded that is related to the forms of financial securities like the investment and the stock details of the bank.

Bookkeeping Clerk: A bookkeeping clerk assists the accounting staff in order to maintain financial statements. These types of bank clerk job details include taking care of records for each customer’s account by following a ledger system. A bookkeeping clerk in a bank makes a financial statement so that the bank manager can have a look at it and make plans for the bank's functioning accordingly.

Also read: Career as Investment Banker

The working atmosphere in the bank is usually pleasant. Individuals who opt for a career as bank clerks often work alone as it requires attention to detail. A bank officer works in an office setting and most of the time requires interaction with customers. Bank clerks are usually the first point of contact for a customer when he or she comes into the bank.

Does Bank Clerk require travelling?

Likely

Individuals who opt for a career as bank clerks function in an office or it is completely a desk job. They are least likely to travel for official purposes.

Employment Shifts

Full Time

A bank clerk working hours are usually fewer working hours compared to other professions. There is only a full-time option, there is no part-time or work-from-home option in this career.

Employment Nature

Permanent

A banking clerk or bank cashier is definitely a profession with a permanent nature of employment. Contractual employment does not exist in this profession.

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Work Place

Office

Individuals who opt for a career as bank clerks work in a branch of a bank that has an infrastructure and environment like regular offices. They need to handle queries from different sections of people on a daily basis. It becomes a bit difficult for candidates when it comes to a customer who has a query and is using different regional languages according to the region. 

Presence in Geographical Area

Rural, Semi-urban, Urban

Bank officer job consists of working in all areas like urban, semi-urban, and rural areas. This is because bank services are used by almost every person living in our country. With digitalization in the process, the number of banks is increasing in every area. To date, the numbers of public and private banks present in urban areas are more as compared to the semi-urban and rural areas. 

Time Pressure

Likely

Individuals who opt for a career as bank clerks are entitled to perform many tasks within a limited time. Hence, both time and work pressure are high in the bank cashier job. Almost every day, they’re required to perform a certain set of tasks within the scheduled time which results in extreme time pressure sometimes.

Overtime Details

Individuals who opt for a career as bank clerks are required to perform a variety of tasks within a day. Hence, working late is quite common in the profession. Occasionally, when they’re unable to complete their tasks at the desired time, they are required to stay for long hours and work overtime.

Weekly Hours of Work

Min 40 Hours

A career as IBPS clerk working hours comes with flexible working hours. It is usually 10 am to 4 pm shift work but the weekly work hours vary in the initial stage of the bank clerk career as everything is new. It is a bit difficult to adjust to all the activities which need to be completed by a bank clerk. Since a bank officer job comes with a lot of responsibilities overtime is done on a regular basis to complete every day’s work on time. 

Also read: Career as Accountant

When it comes to how to become a bank clerk, the first thing that they should know about is the skills requirements to become a bank clerk. Some of the essential bank clerk skills are mentioned below. 

Attention to Detail: It is one of the most important skills required for a candidate to build a career as a bank officer. Bank clerks need to pay attention to minute things happening around in the bank just to make sure that nothing is missed. The bank clerks need to go through every detail cautiously as it involves money as well as the personal details of the customers. Individuals who opt for a career as bank clerks need to be extremely particular about minute details and maintain high levels of work accuracy. 

The slightest mistake in a bank cashier job can lead to a huge disaster and would result in starting the complete process again which would take extra time unnecessarily. 

Communication Skills: Good written and verbal communication skills are required to deal with customers and solve their queries on a daily basis. Good command over various languages is helpful for a candidate to understand and solve a query of a person very quickly. Individuals who opt for a career as bank clerks must have good communication skills as they are the first point of contact for every customer. 

It is essential for a clerk to possess the skill as it would help the clerk to understand the query of a customer and would resolve the query of the same in less time. With good communication skills, it would be quite easy for a candidate to interact with any customer and help the customer with the best resolution.

Numerical Ability: Good numeracy and calculation skills are a key factors in this role as a candidate needs to be accurate with the calculation to maintain various ledgers and accounts. Individuals who opt for a career as bank clerks must have good numeracy skills as the job includes a lot of calculations. Bank clerks must have good numeracy skills as the job includes a lot of calculations. As the daily work of the bank cashier involves keeping track of the amount deposited and withdrawn from the bank, maintaining ledgers, and performing quick calculations that need to be accurate.

Computer skills: Computer learning and capacity to implement the use of computers and software accurately. Employers need their employees to have computer knowledge as their business will become even more and more computer-based. Most companies are trying to use technology to support them operate their business cheaper and more efficiently. Good computer literacy is required for data handling and other purposes. Banks heavily rely on computers to update and maintain the data of their customers on a daily basis. So knowledge of computers definitely makes it easier for a candidate to complete the regular activities at a greater speed.

Honesty: The more transparent the organizational structure, the more happy the employees are. The more satisfied the workers, the more profitable it is. In the end, honesty builds firm confidence and leadership credibility. Conveying the truth helps them all to acknowledge the problem, and also to work together as a team to improve everything. Individuals who opt for a career as a bank officer demand honesty. Bank clerks deal with a lot of money and that too of people’s money so he or she needs to be extremely honest with the work.

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Bank Clerk: Bank clerk enters and updates customer and financial data in the bank's computer systems based on customer or supervisor requests.

Assistant Bank Manager: An assistant bank manager helps the manager in the smooth functioning of the bank and ensures everything gets done on time.

Bank Branch Manager: A bank branch manager is responsible for coordinating and directing the operational functions of financial institutions such as banks, building societies, or credit unions. These types of bank clerk job details include overseeing front-office operations, providing high levels of customer service, and directing regular team meetings and training sessions.

Senior Manager: Senior managers are responsible for planning and directing the work of a group of individuals. These types of bank clerk job details include managing their work and taking corrective actions when necessary.

Chief Bank Manager: The chief manager is responsible for relationship management within the department and with cross-functional teams. These types of bank clerk job details include conveying sales meetings and actively participates in driving companies’ goals and objectives.

Assistant General Manager: The assistant general manager assists the DGM in all his/her activities and takes care of instructing the juniors in the absence of the DGM. The reports of daily work are taken by the AGM and submitted to the seniors to convey the progress to them.

Deputy General Manager: A deputy general manager manages the actual employees of the company and looks after the execution of the orders given by his seniors. In case if anything goes wrong in the functioning of the company, the DGM handles it initially.

General Manager: A general manager (GM) is responsible for the company's operations, including generating revenue and controlling costs.

The job growth in a career as bank clerk is at a very low rate with maximum experience. For starters, a bank clerk is mainly divided into several sections of clerks. Different clerks have specialized duties to perform on a daily basis. A bank clerk’s job is considered to be one of the most secure jobs which definitely pays less but has other benefits. Getting a job in this field is the dream of millions of young aspiring candidates. 

In the last couple of years, there was a total vacancy of 16,000 to 20,000 both in private and government banks. So with this, it is easy to understand that the competition in this field is too extensive. In the year 2020, the vacancy in private banks(only) is estimated at 8000+ vacancies. In government banks, there would be more than 6000+ vacancies in 2020. So the vacancies would increase in terms of job opportunities in the coming years.

The growth rate of bank officer jobs would rise but at a minimum speed. But as this profession of bank clerk has a lot of likeness among the people of our country the competition in this field is getting tougher day by day.

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