In the United States, the bank teller salary is $27,260 per year. Average earnings stand at C$29,452 ($22,231 USD) for tellers in Canada, £14,000 ($17,038 USD) for those in the United Kingdom and AU$41,689 ($30,727 USD) in Australia. Bank tellers earn on average CHF81,000 ($79,570 USD) in Switzerland and NOK511,200 ($59,357 USD) in Norway.
Bank Teller Salary Influencers
As discussed below, the nature of the banking industry means that pay is typically determined by the bank. Read how other features of the banking sector and a teller’s experience can influence pay and employment prospects.
1. Industry
Tellers are overwhelmingly private sector employers. Typically, pay levels for tellers turn on factors specific to a particular bank, such as its size and whether it operates nationally or regionally.
Due to digital technology and mobile devices, deposits, withdrawals, bill payments and other bank transactions are performed without the need of a teller. As a consequence, job opportunities for tellers could decline. This may give banks less incentive to award significant pay raises. In certain countries, though, bank tellers are entitled to minimum levels of pay or benefits.
2. Geographical Area
Bank Teller Salary | US | Canada | UK | Australia | Switzerland | Norway |
Hourly Wage | $13.10 | C$14.16 | £7.06 | AU$20.04 | CHF38.94 | NOK245.77 |
Annual Wage | $27,260 | C$55,481 | £14,688 | AU$41,689 | CHF81,000 | NOK511,200 |
Bank Teller Salary in the US
According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, bank tellers in the United States earn on average $27,260 per year. Those in the top ten percent of earners make above $36,870 per year, while tellers in the top one-fourth were paid above $30,670 per year.
Bank Teller Salary in Canada
PayScale reports that bank tellers in Canada made C$14.16 per hour, or C$29,453 annually. The pay range is between C$23,214 and C$36,767.
Bank Teller Salary in the UK
According to PayScale, the average salary for bank tellers in the United Kingdom stands at £14,688 per year. Total salaries run from £13,189 to £23,490.
Bank Teller Salary in Australia
The average pay for bank tellers in Australia is AU$41,689 per year, according to PayScale. (). Pay can run from AU$30,365 to AU$53,095, reports PayScale. The Government of Western Australia Department of Training and Workforce Development places the range between AU$41,600 and AU$51,999 per year.
Bank Teller Salary in Switzerland
According to LohnComputer, bank employees in Switzerland make on average CHF81,000 per year or CHF6,750 per month. Wages run from CHF72,000 per year to CHF90,000 per year or CHF6,000 per month to CHF7,500 per month.
Bank Teller Salary in Norway
Statistics Norway reports that, as of 2015, clerks or clerical support workers in the “financial intermediation” sector, which include bank tellers, made on average NOK42,600 per month. This translates to an annual salary of NOK511,200.
3. Experience
Typically, accumulating experience translates to minor increases in pay. According to PayScale, tellers in the United States have entry-level salaries of $23,000, progressing to $26,000 at five years, $27,000 after ten 10 and $28,000 after 20 years. Bank tellers in the United Kingdom begin at £14,000 and make £18,000 by 20 years.
According to PayScale, entry-level tellers in Canada make C$30,000 and reach only C$32,000 after 10 years of experience. From there, pay declines to C$31,000 beyond 20 years. For bank tellers in Australia, salaries stand at AU$44,000 for starters and rise to AU$50,000 between five and ten years. Afterward, earnings decline with experience to AU$47,000 after 20 years.
Working Hours
Generally, bank tellers log full-time hours, though some part-time work is available. For example, in the United States, approximately one-fourth of tellers worked part-time. According to the Australian Government, the average work week for tellers in Australia ran 37.9 hours, less than the 40.2 hours for workers overall.
Tellers generally have traditional daytime, business hours. To accommodate customers’ schedules, some banks operate on weekends. Normally, banks are closed on federal or national holidays.
Bonuses & Benefit Packages
According to PayScale, bonuses run from $102.98 to $2,006 for tellers in the United States, and C$200 to C$2,048 on a yearly basis for those in Canada. In the United Kingdom, the average bonus as reported by PayScale is £890, while the average is AU$3,052 in Australia, Statistics Norway states that bonuses for clerks in financial intermediation average NOK 43,200 in Norway.
The Fair Work Commission of Australia sets minimum pay and other work conditions for its employees. In the Banking, Finance and Insurance sector, “level 2” employees, which includes tellers with less than 12 months experience, get a minimum salary of AU$40,732, as of July 2016. At twelve months of experience, the minimum pay rises to AU$43,020.
Bank tellers in Australia, Switzerland and Norway also get benefits such as employer-funded retirement, paid vacations and paid annual leave. In Switzerland, mandatory employer contributions form the second of three pillars in the funding of employees’ retirement benefits. The first pillar consists of Old Age and Survivors/Disability Insurance and the third level of support comes from voluntary employer contributions.
Job Outlook
Online and mobile technology figure to lower demand for branch banking services. Customers carry less cash and employers are turning to direct deposits. According to a survey by the Canadian Bankers Association, only 13 percent of Canadians rely on branches as their main method of banking in 2014, compared with 29 percent in 2000. Nearly four in ten survey respondents reported less use of in-branch services.
The U.S. Bureau of Labor predicts an eight percent decline, or drop of 40,000, in the employment of tellers in the United States by 2024. According to U.S. News and World Report, approximately 40 percent of bank customers had not visited a branch in the last six months of 2015.
In 2015, the bank workers occupation in Australia numbered an estimated 60,200 workers. The Australian Government projects the number of job openings to range between 10,001 and 25,000 by November 2019.
According to a Swiss Bankers Association survey, employment in Switzerland’s banking sector dropped by 4.1 percent, or 3,454 employees, in the first half of 2016. Computer Weekly magazine reports that one bank in 2016 would reduce its 116 branches to 57 in 2016. For a complete overview of the field, we suggest reading about the investment banking salary as well.
Conclusion
Employment as a bank teller usually affords modest, but not significant, pay increases with experience. The best prospects for higher salaries are likely found with larger banks. Tellers might earn bonuses at certain banks based on performance or meeting sales or other goals.
Prospects for finding teller jobs may prove challenging, as banks and their customers turn to mobile and online banking for transactions and as customers carry less cash.