Bank teller screening questions: cash handling, fraud scenarios and background checks

Bank teller screening questions should test three things a teller does all day: count and balance cash accurately, spot fraud and follow procedure when a customer pushes back, and serve customers well at a steady pace. Ask how they balanced a drawer and what they did when it was out, walk through two short fraud scenarios, and confirm the schedule. Explain the bank's background check early, because federal law (Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act) shapes who a bank may employ, and candidates should hear about it before they reach an offer.

This bank is for recruiters filling teller, head teller and universal banker roles at banks. It differs from call center screening questions in that the work is cash, identity checks and in-person fraud, and the background rules are specific to insured depository institutions.

Teller, head teller or universal banker?

Knockout questions for the first three minutes

The third question is worded deliberately. It tells the candidate what will happen without asking about their record, which many fair chance laws restrict before an offer. Confirm with the client at which stage their process allows record questions in each location.

Section 19 and the background check, in plain terms

Section 19 of the Federal Deposit Insurance Act prohibits a person convicted of a criminal offense involving dishonesty, breach of trust or money laundering, or who entered a pretrial diversion or similar program for one, from participating in the affairs of an FDIC-insured institution without the FDIC's prior written consent. Tellers are covered: the bank has to screen for it before they start.

What recruiters most often get wrong is how narrow it is. Under the FDIC's rules:

• Many offenses are not covered at all. The covered offenses rule excludes, among others, offenses that occurred seven or more years ago, offenses where five or more years have passed since release from incarceration, and offenses committed at age 21 or younger where more than 30 months have passed since sentencing. Simple drug possession offenses are also excluded.
• Some records do not count as convictions. The conviction rule treats expunged, sealed or dismissed convictions, convictions reversed on appeal, and youthful offender or juvenile adjudications as not requiring an application.
• Minor offenses can be de minimis. The de minimis exemption covers, with conditions, offenses punishable by three years or less of confinement, simple theft below a dollar threshold ($1,225, adjusted from time to time), bad checks totaling $2,000 or less, and offenses such as using a fake ID, shoplifting, trespassing or fare evasion after a year has passed. No offense against an insured depository institution or credit union qualifies.
• Consent can be requested. The application rule lets either the individual or the bank on their behalf apply to the FDIC.

The check itself is usually a consumer report, so the FCRA steps apply: a standalone written disclosure, written permission, and before rejecting someone because of the report, a copy of it with a summary of rights. The FTC's page Background checks: what employers need to know sets these out. For an agency recruiter, the practical rule is: describe the process, never predict the outcome, and never reject a candidate yourself on the basis of what they told you about a record.

Cash handling and balancing questions

Fraud and compliance scenarios

Tellers are the front line for scams and reporting rules. You are not testing whether they know the regulations; the bank trains that. You are testing whether they follow procedure when a customer is upset.

Scenario 1: the split deposit

Read aloud:
"A regular customer brings in $14,000 in cash from selling a car. When
you start the transaction, he says: 'Can you just do $9,000 today and
the rest tomorrow? I don't want the paperwork.' What do you say and do?"

Strong: declines to split it, explains calmly that the bank has to complete its standard process for large cash deposits, and involves a supervisor under the bank's procedure. Banks file currency transaction reports for cash of more than $10,000 in a business day, and multiple transactions by or for the same person are aggregated. A candidate does not need to cite that, but should know that helping a customer avoid the paperwork is the wrong answer.

Red flags: agrees to split it to keep a good customer happy, or tips the customer off about what the bank might report.

Scenario 2: the anxious older customer

Read aloud:
"A customer in her eighties wants to withdraw $8,000 in cash. She is
on the phone with someone while she's at your window, seems nervous,
and says it's for her grandson who is in trouble and needs bail
money today. What do you do?"

Strong: stays polite, asks open questions about the purpose, mentions that this matches a common scam pattern, involves a supervisor under the bank's elder financial exploitation procedure, and understands that it is still the customer's money.

Red flags: processes it without a word, or refuses outright and lectures her.

Other scenarios worth a minute

• The ID does not match the name on the check, and the customer says a relative told them to cash it.
• A customer demands immediate access to a large deposited check that has a hold.
• A coworker asks to borrow cash from your drawer until their shortage is sorted out.

Customer service, referrals and sales goals

Most banks give tellers and universal bankers referral or product goals. Ask about them directly, because the answers show both ability and ethics.

1. "Did you have referral or sales goals, and how did you do against them?"
   • Strong answer: knows the goal and their results, and describes referrals that came from listening: "A customer mentioned a new business, so I introduced our business banker."
   • Red flags: opened products the customer did not clearly ask for, or talks about "getting them to sign" without mentioning the customer's need.
2. "Tell me about a customer who was angry about a fee or a hold. What did you say?"
   • Strong answer: listened, explained why the hold or fee applied, offered the option available (a supervisor review, a partial release if policy allows), and stayed within their authority.
   • Red flags: reversed a fee without authority, or argued.
3. "How do you handle a line of eight people when you are the only teller open?"
   • Strong answer: acknowledges the line, calls for backup under the branch procedure, and does not skip ID or hold steps to go faster.
   • Red flags: "I'd skip some of the checks for regulars."

Systems and accuracy habits

Scorecard for teller screens

The scenario answers are the most useful part to pass to a branch manager, in the candidate's words rather than your rating. Interview Signal gives you a live transcript without a bot joining the call, so you can quote them accurately. Keep anything a candidate volunteers about a record out of your notes and submittal; see what not to write in interview notes.