Bank clerks, including bank tellers, are the bank employees that customers deal with most frequently. Besides tellers, there are new accounts clerks, credit clerks and loan clerks. Clerks are the administrative foot soldiers of the banking industry. They do a host of small, but important tasks, from data entry to all aspects of customer service, and it is no exaggeration to say that 21st century banks literally could not operate without clerks.

Education and Training

Bank clerks are generally only required to have a high school diploma. Some specialized clerks may be expected to have some college or an associate's degree. Most clerk positions require from a few weeks to a few months of on-the-job training, and often spending a good bit of time "shadowing" an experienced bank clerk.

Teller Duties

Tellers are the bank clerks that assist customers with their day-to-day transactions such as deposits, withdrawals and loan payments. Teller duties include helping customers with deposits or withdrawals, answering questions, preparing traveler’s checks, savings bonds, and money orders for customers. They also handle foreign currency transactions, ordering checks, and assisting customers in applying for bank or credit cards. Tellers are also responsible for maintaining a correct cash balance in their drawers during each shift.

Other Bank Clerk Duties

Loan clerks are another common type of bank clerk. Loan clerks interview customers interested in getting a loan, and verify the required personal and financial information on the loan application. New account clerks help customers to set up new or additional accounts. Credit clerks, or credit authorizers, examine the credit history and other information of individuals and businesses to determine their creditworthiness. They sometimes have to contact other financial institutions or government agencies to verify facts.

Pay and Employment Prospects

According to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, tellers earned the least among bank clerks, taking home a median salary of $32,620 in 2020. New account clerks did a little better, earning a median salary of $39,870, credit clerks still better at $43,580, and loan clerks come second with a median annual salary of $42,780.

Employment prospects for bank tellers are relatively poor, with an 17 percent decline projected from 2020 to 2030, which is a loss of approximately 33,700 positions over ten years. Job prospects are significantly better for financial clerks in general with a 14 percent growth in positions expected in the same period, which is the same as the national average for all jobs.