Business Builder: Business English for Banking
Business English is a passport (travel document) to the English-speaking world, and each sector (job area you work in) has different vocabulary, skills, and grammar. Let’s take a look at Business English for Banking:
English Banking Vocabulary
The vocabulary you need depends on which area of banking you work in. But, here is some vocabulary that would be useful to most people in banking:
withdraw (v) - taking money out of an account.
deposit (v) - putting money into an account.
balance (n) - the money currently (now) in an account.
sum (n/v) - the total amount (n) / the action of totaling or adding amounts (v).
net (adj.) - what is left after all deductions (-) and additions (+).
gross (adj.) - the amount coming into an account before deductions (-).
asset (n) - objects, property, or licenses you own that are worth money.
There are many areas of expertise in the banking industry, and the vocabulary you need will relate to whether you are in loans, customer support, investments, or something else.
English Banking Service Grammar
Most of the grammar you will need as a customer-facing banking employee (someone who works directly with customers) will relate to being polite, making offers, giving instructions, and answering questions. Here are some examples:
Polite questions (using ‘can’ for yourself, and ‘could’ or ‘would’ with your customer): “How can I….?”, “Which account would you….?”, “Is there anything I can…?”
Making offers: “Would you like…?”, “Can I offer you…?”, “We/I can offer you…”
Giving instructions (when it is OK to use the imperative - ‘do this’ - and when to use questions): “Please sign here...”, “If you could…please.”, “Could you please…?
Business English Skills for Banking
It is important to understand that grammar and vocabulary can be learned from a book, but you can’t read to practice or develop your skills. Here are some examples of skills that are best practiced privately with an English teacher:
Responding to complaints.
Giving clear and polite instructions.
Asking for feedback.
Offering additional (extra or more) products without pressuring customers.
Managing customer expectations.
Wrapping Up
There are a lot of resources available online to people who want to improve their Business English, and even for banking specifically. I recommend you look into making offers, giving instructions, asking questions, and using the imperative (grammar for giving orders - do this!). Some things are much better with a private English teacher. With an online teacher, you can practice new skills from the comfort of your home, instruct your teacher through real processes, and explain real workplace situations in English privately, with support, recommendations, and feedback. Teachers can even make all of this hard work fun and enjoyable!
