Bank Customer Services Clerk

The purpose of this qualification is to prepare a learner to operate as a Bank Customer Services Clerk. A Bank Customer Services Clerk is the first port of call for customers entering the bank. They direct customers to the right department. They render a range of bank services (like releasing cards and cheque books; producing copies of bank statements; processing a request to stop payment on a cheque or debit order; verifying documents; reversing payments etc.). They also receive and deal with customer queries and complaints, manage queues, walk the floor to identify problems, assist with all types of queries either face-to-face and telephonically. In addition, they promote banking products and services, minimise risk and work towards achieving customer satisfaction. All these activities are performed within a banking regulatory framework. A qualified learner will be able to: • Complete and processing banking services. • Achieve customer satisfaction. • Minimise risk in a banking environment.

The Bank Customer Services Clerk occupation has become very popular as banks compete to provide excellent customer services in order to retain and expand their customer base. The occupation has taken on a much more meaningful role in the bank and often the customer services clerk is the first port of call for clients visiting the bank. In addition, this occupation has acquired a status above that of a bank teller and in some banks bank tellers become customer services clerks as a part of their upward mobility. Currently, banks and some private providers are training customer services clerks using some unit standards from the existing Levels 2 - 5 banking qualifications. These qualifications are: • National Certificate: Banking at Level 2 (ID 20183). • National Certificate: Banking at Level 3 (ID 20184). • FETC: Banking at Level 4 (ID 20185). • National Certificate: Banking at Level 5 (ID 61589). The existing banking qualifications at Levels 2 - 4 of the NQF do not have any core unit standards. Learners are expected to complete the fundamental unit standards and then choose from the electives those standards suitable to the career they wish to pursue. The range of electives in each of these qualifications covers a very large number of disparate banking competencies. It is difficult to identify what occupations in the banking sector the learners who go through these qualifications will enter. These qualifications do not directly produce bank tellers per se. It needs to be emphasised that banks require a national standard for the bank teller occupation. This qualification is focussed on bank customer services clerk competencies. Typical learners are school leavers, FET college graduates or workers who have been employed in the banking industry. Banks have different career pathways for those who enter their training programmes. Some start the learners off with a bank customer services clerk and then onto higher internal organisational tiers. The common trend is that the customer services clerks could move into supervisory positions, based on both experience and further qualifications. The customer services clerks' occupation, being one of the most central occupations in a bank, will contribute to the development of society by providing learners with significant opportunities. Learners will also benefit by completing other banking occupational qualifications being developed.

Recognition of Prior Learning: RPL for access to the external integrated summative assessment: Accredited providers and approved workplaces must apply the internal assessment criteria specified in the related curriculum document to establish and confirm prior learning. Accredited providers and workplaces must confirm prior learning by issuing a statement of result or certifying a work experience record. RPL for access to the qualification: Accredited providers and approved workplaces may recognise prior learning against the relevant access requirements. Entry Requirements: • Level 4 Qualification with Mathematical Literacy.

• The ability to provide the correct answers to a range of questions formulated so as to assess factual, conceptual and procedural knowledge for a Bank Customer Services Clerk.
• The ability to render bank services across all banking channels.
• The ability to handle difficult customers.