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Accountancy clerks

How to become a Bank Teller

Also called: Bank counter clerk, Credit union teller, Foreign exchange counter clerk, Post office savings counter clerk

Handles deposits, withdrawals, transfers and currency exchange at the counter of banks, shinkin banks, credit cooperatives and other financial institutions, and advises customers.

Main tasks

Workers in this job say university is common. From job tag's survey of people in each job, who could give several answers. It shows what workers see as common, not how many workers hold each level.

How to become one

No particular education or qualification is required to start. Most people who join are new graduates. Mid-career hires usually have experience at bank counters. After joining, you learn how to handle cash, cheques, passbooks and slips and then serve customers at the counter. The knowledge and skills you need are gained through training after joining, experience in several departments and your own study. Related qualifications include the 'financial counter services skills' certificate under the ginou kentei (national trade skills test) set by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the private banking business test. Counters also handle bonds, insurance and investment trusts, so you are expected to gain the securities sales representative and insurance sales agent qualifications after joining. With more advice work for individual customers, a financial planner qualification is also useful. You answer customers' questions and give advice, so you need customer service skills and wide knowledge of products. You also handle a lot of cash and cheques, so accurate paperwork and a strict sense of responsibility for money are needed.

Ways in

Pay · Job openings · AI and this job

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Questions people ask

How do I become a Bank Teller?

No particular education or qualification is required to start. Most people who join are new graduates. Mid-career hires usually have experience at bank counters. After joining, you learn how to handle cash, cheques, passbooks and slips and then serve customers at the counter. The knowledge and skills you need are gained through training after joining, experience in several departments and your own study. Related qualifications include the 'financial counter services skills' certificate under the ginou kentei (national trade skills test) set by the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare and the private banking business test. Counters also handle bonds, insurance and investment trusts, so you are expected to gain the securities sales representative and insurance sales agent qualifications after joining. With more advice work for individual customers, a financial planner qualification is also useful. You answer customers' questions and give advice, so you need customer service skills and wide knowledge of products. You also handle a lot of cash and cheques, so accurate paperwork and a strict sense of responsibility for money are needed.

How much does a Bank Teller earn in Japan?

Average annual income in the private sector, bonus included, is ¥5,122,400 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare). The figure is for the wage survey group Accountancy clerks, which covers several jobs.

Do you need a degree to become a Bank Teller?

Not always. In this job's census occupation group, 36% of workers are university graduates. Ways in include: National trade skills test (技能検定).

Will AI change the work of a Bank Teller?

Generative AI could change many tasks in this job, which usually reshapes the work more than it replaces it, by the ILO's global estimate.

Sources

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構(JILPT)作成 職業情報データベース 解説系ダウンロードデータ(IPD_DL_description_7_01.xlsx)ver.7.01 職業情報提供サイト(job tag)より2026年10月4日にダウンロード(https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download)を加工して作成

独立行政法人労働政策研究・研修機構(JILPT)作成 職業情報データベース 簡易版数値系ダウンロードデータ(IPD_DL_numeric_7_00.xlsx)ver.7.00 職業情報提供サイト(job tag)より2026年10月4日にダウンロード(https://shigoto.mhlw.go.jp/User/download)を加工して作成

Sources: JILPT Occupational Information Database download data via job tag (解説系 ver.7.01 and 簡易版数値系 ver.7.00, downloaded 4 October 2026), processed by Peernovo; MHLW, Basic Survey on Wage Structure 2025; Statistics Bureau of Japan, 2020 Population Census; MEXT, School Basic Survey 2025; MHLW, Employment Referrals for General Workers (Hello Work statistics). Figures processed by Peernovo. English job names, translations and the matching of jobs to statistical groups, schools and degree fields by Peernovo.

Updated 4 October 2026