At the Bank

Listen When you go to the bank, you will need to know how to say many things. I will cover opening a bank account, closing a bank account, applying for a credit card, and everything I can think of that is used at the bank.

Listen When you go into a bank to open an account, the first thing you need to say is, ‘I would like to open a bank account.’ There are many different types of accounts so they will probably explain all the different accounts. A free checking account is the most useful so I will use the checking account as the example.

Listen A checking account will have several types. A free account, a paid account, and a premium paid account. The difference between these accounts are that they provide more services such as free traveler’s check or free bank checks with the premium accounts. When they ask you what type of account you want, you can say, ‘I would like a free checking account.’

Listen Opening an account is very easy. I will not go into more details because the rest of the conversation will be controlled by the bank specialist. Just answer the questions and you shouldn’t have a problem.

Listen When you close an account, it is much more difficult. Banks do not like people closing accounts so you have to be persistent. When I tried to close a checking account I wasn’t using, it really took me three times before I succeeded. Each time they showed me the benefit of keeping it and I was convinced. After three trips to the bank, I finally closed the account. Here are some sentences you can use. ‘I would like to close my bank account.’ They will ask you, ‘Why do you want to close your bank account?’, ‘Is there a reason you want to close your account?’, or ‘Were you unsatisfied with something?’ The simple answer is, ‘I just don’t use this account so I want to close it.’

Listen When you want to take money out of your account, you really don’t need to say anything. You will either use the ATM machine or you will fill out the withdrawal form. Both cases don’t need for you to say a single word. But if you need to say something, you can say, ‘I would like to make a withdrawal.’ They will tell you to fill out a form or they will simply ask, ‘How much would you like.’ More likely, they will ask you for your account number and for ID.

Listen Making a deposit is the same way. You can fill out a form and give them the form along with the money. If you want to speak, you can say the following while handing them the form and money. ‘I would like to make a deposit.’

Listen Finally, here is a short list of a variety of sentences that you might need at the bank.
‘What do I need to open an account?’
‘Can I have multiple accounts?’
‘Do you have online service with each account?’
‘How do I access my account online?’
‘Does this account come with online bill payer?’
‘Can I pay all my bills online with this account?’
‘How much do you charge if I use a different banks ATM?’
‘What are all the charges with this particular account?’
‘Do you have a safe deposit box here?’
‘I would like to rent a safe deposit box.’
‘How much is it to rent a safe deposit box?’
‘How do I access my safe deposit box?’
‘What are the hours at this branch?’
‘How many branches do you have?’
‘I would like to take out a loan.’
‘May I speak to someone about a business loan?’
‘I am interested in taking out a home equity line of credit. Who can I speak to about this?’

Listen I hope everyone finds this lesson helpful. This lesson was suggested by our user colombit, and I want to remind everyone that you may request a lesson at anytime.