Retail Banking Starting up Giving and understanding instructions AIMS-BOX You learn How to give and to unterstand instructions in English. 1) Choose a partner and practise giving simple instructions. One of you gives simple instructions or requests and the other carries them out, e.g.: Tell your partner to put a piece of paper in the paper bin. to open the window. to open the book at page 10. EXPRESSION BANK (Please) go and Would you please (Please) don t 9
2) Work with a partner. Two sets of instructions for use are muddled up in the table below. Sort the two sets into the correct order. To which two machines do they apply? (Both machines are found in German offices.) Push the plug into the socket and turn the machine on. (The red light comes on.) Do not turn the machine off before 18.0, because it takes a long time to warm up. Put a filter paper into the plastic filter-holder. Put the document on the glass plate. Add a teaspoonful of coffee per cup. You can leave the machine on to keep the coffee in the jug hot. Pour out your coffee. If you are copying more than one sheet of paper, close the plastic lid and place the pile of sheets in the feeder. Pour cold water into the water-container. Cup quantities are marked. Do not forget to turn the machine off when you have finished with it. Check that there is enough paper in the paper com-partment, and that the machine has been switched on for the day. Lift the plastic lid. Wait until the coffee jug is full. Do not forget to take your original out of the machine, when you take your copies. Press the button or turn the dial to say how many copies you require. Press the green button. Over to you Work with a partner. Give him/her instructions for how to use an office or kitchen machine. Do not give the name of the machine. Can your partner guess which machine it is? Just for Fun: The secretary said to her boss I think this call is for you. What do you mean, he said, crossly, you should know that! Well, she answered, the caller asked for that fat old fool who sits at the big desk under the window. 40
Getting down to business Customer service How to write a cheque Have a look at this facsimile of an English cheque and answer the questions below. 1) Write instructions how to fill in a cheque: make correct sentences using expressions from the columns below. Enter forget to fill in the counterfoil. Fill in the amount to be paid. Sign the name of the payee. Write in full the counterfoil. Complete tear or damage the cheque. Fill in today s date. Do not the amount. Do not your name in the space provided. 2) Look at your own cheques. Are there any differences from the English one above? ) Work out a set of instructions in English for using a cash dispenser.! BUSINESS TIP It is sometimes necessary to endorse a cheque: this means to sign it on the back. Do not translate geben Sie mir eine Unterschrift auf der Rückseite with give me a sign on the backside. This means in German Geben Sie mir ein Zeichen auf den Hintern! 41
How to open a bank account with the ABC Bank Read the text and do the exercises at the end. All you have to do to open an account is call into your nearest branch at a time which suits you. Please bring some form of identification with you, for example your passport or driving licence, showing your signature and a photograph. You can fill in the application form yourself, or ask one of our Personal Service Staff to help you. If you fill it in yourself, first read through these instructions. Please write in black ink and in capital letters. Don t forget to fill in the date of your application. Enter your personal details. Answer the personal identification questions: these will help bank staff to check your identity later. Don t forget to sign your application. Provide a specimen signature in the space given. Either send your application to the bank or bring it in yourself and one of our personal service staff will process the application immediately. 1) Find words or expressions in the text which mean: ein Bankkonto öffnen Führerschein Bewerbungsformular unterschreiben Musterunterschrift Großbuchstaben 2) Write instructions in English for opening an account at your German bank. ) Imagine you are a bank employee, having to process a customer s application for a current account. Put the following actions in the correct order. Issue a bank card to the customer. Ask the customer to pay some money into the account. Accept or reject the application. Give an account number to the customer. Check the personal details. Issue a cheque book to the customer. Open the account.! BUSINESS TIP British people do not have identity cards. This makes identifying oneself more difficult than in Germany, because not everyone has a passport or driving licence. 42
Listening Comprehension Listening Text No. 7 Talking to personal-banking customers over the counter Listen to the two dialogues. Then listen to each dialogue and answer the questions below. Dialogue 1 a) Does the cashier know the customer? b) Does the customer need any bank notes? c) What does he need? d) What is his job? Can you guess it from the dialogue? Dialogue 2 a) Can the customer get foreign currency at the normal counter? b) How much does he want in euros? c) How much must he pay in pounds? d) How high is the bank commission? e) What denominations of notes does the cashier give to the customer?! BUSINESS TIP Germans say ein Euro, ein Dollar or zehn Euro, zehn Dollar. In English, we say one euro but two euros, one dollar but ten dollars. 20.0 = twenty euros thirty or twenty euros and thirty cents 2,.56 = two thousand three hundred and thirty-three pounds and fifty-six pence Over to you When did you last get foreign currency from your bank? Which currency did you get? What denominations of notes did you get? Can you remember the exchange rate? How good are you at English figures? Work with a partner. Check how good you are with figures in English. Read the figures below. Write a set of seven similar figures down and dictate them to your partner. Check that he/she writes the correct figures down. If you make mistakes, check what went wrong. $45.90 0.50 12,56.00 $589,940.4 4.50 19.50 60.00 4
Listening Text No. 8 Further over-the-counter dialogues Read and translate the German parts into English, then listen to the texts on CD and compare them with your translations. EXPRESSION BANK paying-in slip/einzahlungsbeleg to advise/beraten to order/bestellen (carbon) copy/durchschlag forged note (forgery)/falschgeld to transfer/überweisen 1) Paying in a cheque Clerk Guten Tag. Wie kann ich Ihnen behilflich sein? Customer Well, I want to pay this cheque into my current account, but I haven t got my paying-in book with me. Clerk Kein Problem. Würden Sie bitte diesen Einzahlungsbeleg ausfüllen. 5 Customer Can you lend me a pen, please? Clerk Hier, bitte. Customer OK. Here is the paying-in slip. And here is the cheque. Clerk Bitte unterschreiben Sie auf der Rückseite des Schecks. Customer All right. 10 Clerk Danke. Und hier ist der Durchschlag für Sie. Customer Thanks. Clerk Auf Wiedersehen. 2) Checking for counterfeit money Customer Hello, I hope you can help me. Can you tell me whether this hundred pound note is real or counterfeit? You see, a customer wants to pay for everything in cash, and my wife says we ought to check before we accept any more. He gave the waiter this to pay for dinner last night. We 5 thought it might be a forgery. Cashier Der Schein sieht mir in Ordnung aus. Aber ich bin kein Fachmann für Falschgeld. Können Sie bitte einen Moment warten? Ich rufe einen unserer Experten an. Customer OK, thanks. Cashier Gern geschehen. Er kommt gleich. Würden Sie bitte dort drüben warten? 10 Work with a partner. Take turns to play the role of customer and bank clerk. Write the dialogues down. The customer wants: a) a new cheque book b) 700 in US dollars c) change for a 50 note d) to open a current account e) to transfer money to France 44
Paying for things on holiday Read the following extract from the sales literature of a British bank and answer the questions below. Foreign and travel services for our personal banking customers How can you access your money when you are on holiday abroad? ABC Bank has a range of travel services available for our customers. 5 10 15 20 Foreign currency You can get any major currency at any time from most of our main high street branches, but it is a good idea to order any large amounts or unusual currencies three working days in advance. It is always useful to have some of the local currency when abroad, for paying smaller amounts, or in the places where other methods of payment are not yet accepted. Travellers cheques Our travellers cheques are a safer way to carry money and they are welcomed in almost every country in the world and in many places which do not accept credit cards. Order them either in pounds sterling or in foreign currencies. You can change them easily and quickly into local currency, but your risk is smaller. If you lose your travellers cheques you can get a refund with no problem and in your holiday country. ABC credit cards Our credit cards help you to manage your money better, at home and abroad. Millions of outlets around the world accept ABC credit cards. We send you a monthly statement to help you keep track of spending. This is naturally very useful for business customers, who need to reclaim expenses. Comprehension a) Why is it useful to have some of the local currency? b) Give some examples of situations where one has to pay in local currency. c) What is the main advantage of travellers cheques? d) What additional advantage does a credit card offer for business customers? Over to you What other ways are there to pay private bills in a foreign country? How do you make payments when you go on holiday in a foreign country? Strange but true The word dollar originally came from German during the middle ages. The word was Thaler and was the name for the silver coins used in Joachimsthal in Bohemia. The word, pronounced by non-german speakers as dollar, became used in many countries for the official currency. 45
Language Practice Grammar Update Commands, instructions and requests Commands and Instructions (Befehle und Anweisungen) = Imperativ Press the button Drücken Sie auf den Knopf/Drück auf den Knopf/Drückt auf den Knopf. Don t press the button Nicht auf den Knopf drücken. Requests: (Bitten); say Please it sounds more polite!) Imperative + please : Please press/don t press the button. Could you/would you + base form: Could you press the button (please)? Would you mind + -ing-form: Would you mind pressing the button? Suggestions: (Vorschläge) You/We could press the button. Shall we press the button? Let s press the button. 1) Translate the following into English. a) Unterschreiben Sie bitte hier. b) Vergessen Sie nicht, das heutige Datum einzutragen. c) Schreiben Sie in Großbuchstaben. d) Schreiben Sie nicht mit Bleistift. e) Gehen Sie bitte zu meinem Kollegen. f) Schreiben Sie den Betrag in Buchstaben. g) Vergessen Sie Ihre PIN nicht. h) Geben Sie mir bitte zwei Zwanzig-Pfund Noten. i) A) Vielen Dank für ihre Hilfe. B) Bitte. j) Bitte warten Sie hier einen Moment. 2) Make the following dialogue sound more polite (höflicher). A I want to see one of the Personal Service Staff. Get one. B They are all busy. Sit down and wait. A Where? B There. C Morning. What do you want? A I want to open an account. C Read this booklet and fill in the form. A OK. Help me do it. C No, I don t have time. Fill in the parts you can, then come back. 46
Vocabulary Practice Look at the extract from a dictionary below and the explanations which follow. train 1 [trein] s Zug: go by ~ mit dem Zug fahren: ~ of thought Gedankengang train 2 [trein] v/t trainieren; Mitarbeiter ausbilden, Hund abrichten v/i von Mannschaft, Sportler trainieren von Lehrer usw ausgebildet werden train is the headword. 1 shows that train has at least two unrelated meanings [trein] phonetic script s tells you the word is a substantive (= noun) Zug: the German word ~ stands for the word that you are looking up (train) 2 shows that this is a totally different meaning of the word to 1. shows that there are two meanings of train which are connected to each other. v/t stands for verb/transitive. The words in Italics tell you about meanings in context. shows you that there is a second, related meaning. v/i tells you that it is a verb/intransitive. 1) Check how your dictionary gives information about the words. Look up the following words. They all have more than one meaning bank order slip sign back 2) Put one of the words from above into each of the following sentences. a) The company pays my salary into my... b) He had an accident because he did not understand the road... c) It is very icy. Be careful you don t... d) Please fill in this paying-in... e) You must sign the... of the document f) The general gave the... to retreat ) Find the correct German translation for each word and write it in the table. English German Word in sentence number His account number is P45. amount Please fill in the exact amount. currency State the currency (EUR or GBP). money He earns a lot of money. coins For the phone you need a 50 cent coin. figure Is that figure a 5 or a 6, I can t read it. 47
Text File The Foreign exchange market Read the text and answer the questions below. 5 10 15 20 25 0 5 When you travel to a country which uses a different currency from your own country, then you take part in the foreign exchange market, because you need to pay for things in the country you are visiting. As a tourist, you buy your American dollars, yen or Swiss francs from a bank. How expensive your holiday will be depends on the exchange rate. Tourist purchases are, in fact, among the few foreign-exchange transactions in which notes and coins are used. The majority of foreign-exchange deals take place over the telephone in bank dealing rooms, and funds are transferred electronically. Who deals in foreign exchange and why? The banks themselves do most of the buying and selling. A part of these operations is to serve business and corporate clients. All companies who trade with other countries need foreign exchange. How does it work? Here is an example: a Japanese company wants to buy goods in Europe. So that the buyer can pay the seller, a sum of yen (the Japanese currency) must be changed into euros. Even if this only takes place on the banks computers, there is an exchange of two types of money, and the price which must be paid in yen for one euro is the exchange rate. This rate changes from day to day, and so there is a risk, if the yen, for example, goes up in value, that the seller will lose money. To avoid this element of risk, companies can ask the bank to arrange a forward deal. This means that the contract is made and the amount and the exchange rate agreed before the actual sale, then, when settlement is made (that is, when the money is actually exchanged and paid) the agreed forward rate is used to calculate the payment in euros. However, the biggest share of the foreign exchange market takes place between banks. One bank estimated that over 90% of its foreign-exchange business was done with other banks, whereas only 10% of the business was done with other customers. Why do banks deal in foreign exchange? The answer is easy. By buying and selling at the right time, they can make money. There are three major time zones in which Forex-dealing takes place. The market begins in the early hours of the morning, when the Tokyo market opens, then London, Frankfurt, Paris and Zurich open and the European time zone starts trading, and New York, probably the most important trading centre, does not close until late in the evening for European dealers. In fact the market never closes. When New York 48
40 45 50 55 60 goes to bed, San Francisco and Los Angeles stay open until Tokyo starts up again. How can Forex-dealers keep up with so many markets? It is a stressful job, and most dealers are burnt out before they are forty. How do they operate? If a dealer gets a request to buy or sell a large volume of currency, he will first check whether he or one of his colleagues can cover this amount. If not, he will probable contact a foreign exchange broker. The broker s job is to find a buyer for each seller and vice versa. For this service, he (or his company) gets a small percentage of the sum. The important thing for anyone dealing in foreign exchange is to remain covered. This means that a broker, for example, must make sure that he sells and buys the same amounts of currency if he doesn t, he could end up losing a lot of money because of the fluctuations in the exchange rate. An exchange of currencies for immediate transfer is conducted at spot rate. Dealers quote two rates. One for buying and one for selling the currency. The difference between the two is the spread, and this is the way in which the bank makes money out of the deal. These rates are continually updated in Forex dealing rooms, and appear every day in special newspapers, such as the Financial Times. As a tourist, you pay more for your foreign currency than a bank or a big corporation. The spread is higher, for a start, and many banks charge a commission or a fee for changing your money. This is fair enough, because the cost of supplying small amounts of actual notes is much higher than the cost of an electronic transfer. 1) Comprehension Which statements are true? Correct the incorrect statements. a) Tourists buying foreign coins or notes for their holidays are participating in the foreign exchange market. b) Banks sell and buy large amounts of coins and notes in foreign currencies. c) Banks sell and buy large amounts of foreign currency on their own account. d) The most important centre for trading in foreign currencies is Frankfurt. e) Dealers can sell or buy currencies at any time of day or night. f) Being a Forex dealer is an easy job. g) Many foreign exchange deals involve a broker. h) Dealers only quote one rate for buying and for selling. i) Tourists getting foreign currency for holidays get the spot rate. j) Banks charge money for getting foreign notes for you. 2) Find in the text English words or expressions for: Wechselkurs Devisen Waren kaufen tatsächlicher Kauf schätzen kalkulieren Zeitzone Geldscheine 49