With the signing of the 12th Bipartite Settlement in the banking industry, there have been some notable changes in the duties and responsibilities of bank clerks. These changes aim to align the role of clerks with the evolving needs and demands of the banking sector, ensuring their continued relevance and contribution to the industry’s growth. First of all, the name of clerk has been changed to customer service associate and their powers related to working in banks have been increased. The new duties of bank clerks are listed below. This article contains list of duties for Bank Clerk. We will share duties of special assistant in another article.
Duties of Customer Service Associate (CSA) (other than SBI): (w.e.f. 1″ April, 2024)
- Attending to customers across the counters for all routine clerical work other than supervisory work except specifically provided herein.
- Receipt of cheques, Drafts, Dividend Warrants, Pay Orders / Bankers Cheques and other similar instruments other than Bills and giving acknowledgements for the same in the counterfoil.
- Receiving and acknowledging inward thapals / letters / courier / speed post etc.
- Ensuring proper contents in the covers and envelopes including thapals, Registered Post / Courier / Speed Post etc., before despatch of the same.
- Data entry in system of details of Account opening forms including Aadhar based documents after the documents are approved and verified by a supervisory staff.
- Updating and uploading in the system, KYC documents which are verified and approved by a supervisory staff.
- Following up and guiding the customers for completing the KYC, e-KYC / Re-KYC / c-KYC
- Generation of CIBIL Reports.
- Generation of Statements of accounts in hard copy / soft copy and sending by post / mail / hand delivery as the case may be, at the request of the customers / a supervisory staff.
- Printing of Passbook including printing of Barcode / Branch, Customer details page, Transactions at the request of the customers / a supervisory staff, whenever required.
- Preparation and/or generation of Certificate of Balance from the system at the request of the customer for authentication/approval by a supervisory staff.
- Registering Standing Instructions of customers in the system for authentication by a supervisory staff.
- Registering Stop Payment Instructions of the customers in the system for authentication by a supervisory staff.
- Registering/entering (PPS) Positive Pay System letters in the system as are received from the account holders for further approval by a supervisory staff.
- Delivery of cheque books to customers after entering the details in the prescribed register and obtaining the acknowledgement from the customer, subject to approval by a supervisory staff.
- Delivery of Debit Card to customers after entering the details in the prescribed register and obtaining the acknowledgement from the customer, subject to approval by a supervisory staff.
- Recounting of cash in cash department/currency chest.
- Scanning and capturing of specimen signatures of account holders for authentication by a supervisory staff.
- Assisting an officer in Loan Recovery Department by writing letters to borrowers on overdue instalments, overdue notices, default advices, contacting borrowers for reminder, etc. either by sending mail or by contacting through phone.
- Generating or preparing intimation letters to the customers about due date of maturity of Deposits and seeking renewal of Deposits.
- Entry of Locker operations either in the manual register or in the system and assisting a supervisory staff for operation of Locker by the customers. (other than key holding)
- Generating or preparing intimation letters to customers for payment of Locker Renewal Fee.
- Follow-up with customer for recovery of locker fee overdues, by mail or on phone and sending letter in the prescribed format, in this regard.
- Feeding/uploading details of credit proposals, loan applications/ documents after authentication by a supervisory staff.
- Working in “May I Help You” counters.
- Working in Audit Departments to assist Internal Auditors in preparation of audit reports, related correspondence, etc.
- In dedicated and exclusive cash counters, there shall be no limit for accepting / paying cash from / to the customers.
- In other counters, receipt of cash and authorization of the cash received upto Rs. 50,000.
- Cash receipts for issuance of pre-signed DDs, etc. independently upto and including Rs. 50,000.
- Passing cash cheques and other like instruments independently upto and Including Rs. 50,000.
- Passing clearing/transfer vouchers/other similar instruments independently upto and including Rs. 1,00,000.
- Passing clearing and transfer vouchers and other similar instruments of Rs. 1,00,000 and above but upto Rs. 2,00,000 jointly with another Customer Service Associate/ upto Rs.2,50,000/- with Senior CSA (Cash) / upto Rs.4,00,000/- with Special CSA.
- Customer Service Associate may be utilized in Administrative offices / departments to work and assist officers in routine correspondence, follow up, generation of statistical data, returns and statements, working as Assistants to Executives, etc.
- To work in inward/outward clearing department/exclusive departments / specialized branches like Service Branch, Cheque Processing Centres etc., relating to this work and assigned duties like scanning of cheques, uploading, etc.
- Those who are required to work in night shifts/odd hours in specialized branches like Service Branch, Cheque Processing Centres etc., may be compensated by arrangement of conveyance, inconvenience allowance.
- Feeding Life Certificates of Pensioners in the system for authentication by a supervisory staff.
- Generating/preparing Clearing Return memos and forwarding the same to account holders.
- CSAs with required experience and certification, may be assigned to work as Telephone Operator.
- Assisting a supervisory staff in Loan department including dealing with Gold Loan/Jewel Loan including feeding of loan documents, etc. in the system (other than authenticating quality of gold/jewel pledged).
- Customer Service Associate may be utilized to work in Rural Development Department/Agri Loan Department to assist an officer in handling routine correspondence, generation of statistical data, inspection reports, etc.
- CSA may be utilized for assisting/to accompany an officer in recovery of loans outside the Branch/office subject to reimbursement of conveyance expenses and out of pocket expenses, and overtime wages, if any payable.
- Customer Service Associate may be utilized for acquisition of new business, marketing, guiding the customers about digital/other banking products/loan products within office hours and without any assigned targets.
- Banks may utilise CSAs in exclusive marketing work/team/ department outside the Branch / Office by providing guidelines. Facilities like reimbursement of conveyance expenses (other than provided in clause 16)/petrol charges, out of pocket expenses, mobile phone bills upto a prescribed ceiling per month, lunch expenses, entertainment expenses, vehicle parking charges, etc. wherever required may be decided at each Bank level.
- (Banks may evolve proper guidelines for selecting staff for this exclusive marketing work based on defined criteria, suitability, product knowledge, aptitude, special qualifications on marketing, etc.
- Banks should evolve SOPS / guidelines for allocation of work to Customer Service Associates who are persons with benchmark disabilities.
- Customer Service Associate may be sent on deputation to Bank’s own training establishment/s or to any organization / Institution outside of the Bank.
- CSA may enter and feed the details of remittances under NEFT and RTGS but authorization and responsibility thereof shall be of a supervisory staff.
- Assisting the customers to activate net banking / mobile banking facility, sensitising customers about digital products, loan products, and available alternate delivery channels.
- Working in Advances / Credit Department and generating CERSAI from Cersai portal
- Feeding data in Cersai portal for further verification & authorization by a supervisory staff.
- In Forex Department, CSA may be asked to work as a maker in inward remittance, outward remittance, realisation of Export Bills, Letter of Credit lodgment for Import and Export Bills, View Swift credit entries and sending intimation of the same.
- To work in I.T. department to undertake duties that are done by RCC or at Helpdesk like running a patch programme, Maintaining records of Hardware etc. (employees with qualification of BCA, B.Tech, MCA, etc. may be entrusted with such duties).
Clerical staff are as good as a junior officers with huge risk and responsibility.
When we need salary hike for every four years we have to change our self & work for the bank.
Every job is now a days thrusted on single wi ndow operator specially in SBI. Even the management is pressing them hard for every type of work be it selling rather misselling insurance, mutual fund government schemes like APY PMJJY and PMSBY.Forget about routine work as it is not counted anymore though need to be done without any fault. The staff is not adequately posted. In totality working in a bank is very very difficult. Most of bankers are suffering from diseases like stress, bp, diabetes etc. The work Life balance is worst in banking sector.
Next level accountability also slowly introducing to clerical staff. Fasting growing digital banking word. Seriousness and alertness required to clerks. Take it seriously u r assignment.
Branches mostly in suburban and rural areas do not provide full working hours the customer is entitled to. At the time of opening, before and after lunch hour as also cash closing time some customer time is wasted which per employee multiplied by number of branches is a big loss for the Bank also. IBA and Unions agree on many points at the apex level but there is no system to safeguard customer rights. Any complaint given is least solved. Neither at branch level or top level. That way of saving on customer time ultimately tells upon productivity paving the way for privatisation for which the whole personnel are responsible. My recent complaint at Union Bank at Car shed Jn , Madhurawada, Visakhapatnam, when the whole branch switched off 10 minutes before lunch hour which begins at 2 PM FELL ON DEAF EARS BOTH at Regional Head and Central level. Let the customer suffer any loss. Who bothers for our rights. Same must be the case with most of the Public sector branches, NO DOUBT.
Bro , why cant we shout like this at govt hospitals, Revenue tahsildar offices, we are ready to pay bribes to third persons in RTO offices and revenue. But this poor bankers pls dont hate this much. Their work life balance is the worst in all departments. Morning 9 to night 9 they work.
What the role of officer to say it’s only clerical duty my job is to only pass cheque and see mobile website amazon may branch officer are doing like this in bank only telling clerk to do this or that and self sitting or talking on call or either enjoying food
That’s why they are called supervisory staff. Infact most of the clerks do what you said here. Stop this blame game and start accepting responsibilities. Clerks in banks are atmost comfort in entire job market
Ya officers are getting more salary and less work and CSA’s are working more and getting less salary…what’s is the bad thinking by unions… assigning more work means then increase our salary also … In branches clerks are only doing more work…
Then take promotion
How can you say that you do more work; you would only substitute a work as you have a time limit.
CIBIL and CERSAI entry only had been done by officers earlier. If you are going to do it now, you would leave some other work undone.
For anything and everything, the supervisory staff would authorise it.
Then what is the Problem?
You are only going to have more exposure.
The work and responsibilities pf the clerks have been tremendously increased without giving any monetary benefit in terms of allowances. This job is very much similar to the present job of scale 1 officer in banks. But no allowances have been given as is permissible to an officer. This is ridiculous.
Then take promotion, why cry foul.
I think they are slowly & practically converting clerical staff into officers and in due course even call them officers (like chief cashiers in SBI automatically join officers’ fold). This indirect approach cannot be possible without the support of union leaders.
Excepting the change in the designation, 90% of the work detailed are being attended to by the Clerks(CSAs) By properly defining the duties, a clarity is given. With the change in the banking environment consequent to massive digitalization, CSAs should understand realities and endeavour to put forth their best efforts to see that the customers are attended well to their satisfaction.
CSAs can collectively pass cheques and other like instruments. Why not officers can collectively work as Manager. Or Managers collectively act as Chief Manager, General Manager etc. First this method should have been applied on higher side.