Read this opening conversation at the bank:
Teller: Hi, what can I do for you today?
Customer: I want to open a savings account.
Teller: O.K. Will this be a personal or business account?
Customer: Personal.
Teller: All right. Will this be a single or joint account?
Customer: Single.
Teller: Now all you need to do is fill out this application. Please write down your full name, social security number, address and signature. Also, we will require a deposit of $50.00.
If you want to open a savings account at a bank, you can say:
"I want to open a savings account"
or
"I'd like to open a savings account."
Another kind of account is called a checking account. When you write checks, the money is taken from this account. Read the rest of that conversation at the bank:
Customer: How much money do I need to have in my account at all times?
Teller: The minimum requirement is $75.
Customer: Is there any penalty if I don't keep this rule?
Teller: Yes, you'll have to pay a small penalty.
One thing you will need to know is how much money you need to have in the bank at all times. Each bank has a different requirement. If you don't have a certain amount in your account, the bank may ask you to pay a penalty. You can say:
"How much money do I need to have in my account at all times?"
As I said before, most banks will charge a penalty if your account goes below a certain amount. If you want to know about the penalty, you can ask this question:
"Is there any penalty if I don't keep this rule?"
Banks are good places to store money because you can always make interest. Interest is the extra money you get by leaving your money in a bank.
Here are two questions you can ask:
"What is the interest now?"
or
"What is the interest rate now?"
The next thing we are going to talk about is making a deposit. When you want to put money in the bank you can use either of two statements:
"I'd like to deposit $35 please"
or
"I'd like to put $35 in my savings account please"
If you have an account at the bank, you will have a special number that no one else has. That's called your account number. The bank teller will probably ask you your account number by saying:
"What's your account number?"
They will also ask which account you want to put your money in. The teller will say:
"Do you want to deposit in your savings or checking?"
You can answer by saying either:
"Savings please"
or
"Checking please"
Read this next conversation at the bank:
Teller: Hello, can I help you?
Customer: I'd like to withdraw $100.
Teller: Your account number, ma'am?
Customer: It's 5599.
Teller: Can you sign this statement please?
Customer: O.K. here.
Teller: Here's your money and statement. Thank you and have a nice day.
In this conversation, the customer is withdrawing money. When you want to withdraw money, there are two sentences that you can say:
"I'd like to withdraw $100 from my savings account please"
or
"I'd like to take out $100 from my savings account please"
When you withdraw money, you can ask for different size bills.
Read this next conversation:
Teller: Hi, who's next?
Customer: I'd like to withdraw $328 please.
Teller: How would you like your bills?
Customer: Umm, Can I have that in small bills, please?
Teller: Sure. Are 10's and 20's OK?
Customer: That's great. Thank you.
When you take out money from the bank, the bank teller might ask you:
"How would you like your bills?"
or
"How would you like that?"
You can give many different answers. In this conversation, the customer said:
"Can I have that in small bills, please?"
Small bills are usually under $20 like 1's, 5's, 10's and 20's. He could also have said:
"Can you give me some of each, please."
That means he wants to have some of each kind of bill. Here are some other example of how to ask for money:
"I'd like it in 20's please"
"I'd like that in a 20 dollar bill and 10's"
or
"Can I have one 20, one 10 and the rest in 5's"
Sometimes they will ask another question like this:
Teller: Are 20's O.K.?
Customer: No, I'd rather have 10's.
At banks, they like to give large bills, because small bills are harder to handle. The bank teller might ask:
"Do you want large bills?"
or
"Are large bills O.K.?"
When ever you make a transaction at the bank, the teller will ask you to sign something. That means they want your signature.
You can ask them one of these questions:
"Do I have to sign this?"
"Do you need my or signature?"
Some of you may have a hard time balancing your checkbook. Whenever you get confused, you can simply call the bank and check your balance.
Read this telephone conversation:
Teller: Hello, City Bank, may I help you?
Customer: Yes, I'd like to check my balance, please.
Teller: What's your account number?
Customer: It's 3899.
Teller: All right, you have $732.10 in your savings and $458.36 in your checking.
Customer: Great. Thank you.
There are two ways to ask about your balance:
"I'd like to check my balance please"
or
"I want to know my balance"
You should check your balance because sometimes the bank can make a mistake. They are not perfect. So knowing how to check your balance can possibly save you some money someday.
Read this final conversation:
Teller: Hi, can I help you?
Customer: I'd like to get some traveler's checks.
Teller: How do you want your checks?
Customer: What do you mean?
Teller: Do you want them in 10's, 20's or 50's?
Customer: I guess 20's would be fine.
Teller: All right, please sign all these checks now. When you want to use the checks, you just sign them again on the bottom.
Customer: O.K.
You can use traveler's checks almost anywhere in the world, and if they get lost or stolen you can get your money back. When you want to ask for traveler's checks, you can say one of these sentences:
"I want to get some traveler's checks."
or
"I'd like to get some traveler's checks"
