Next in rank to the cashier, unless there is an assistant cashier, is the paying teller, who receives a larger salary than any of the other tellers. He is in the direct line of promotion, and often succeeds to the office of cashier.

1. Custody And Disbursement Of Funds

To him is committed the custody and disbursement of the funds of the bank. The funds of a large bank are divided in several ways. First is the reserve, the keeping of which by a national bank is imperative, and is often kept by state banks and trust companies. This is put by itself in a safe, with two or three keys, one of which is kept by the paying teller, one by the cashier, and a third, perhaps, by the president or vice president. The object of having more than one key and combination is twofold, - to guard against the possibility of any official gaining access to the reserve by himself, and also to guard more effectually against any robber, who, if only one official possessed the key, might, by seizing him, secure the plunder. By thus requiring united action of the three to enter the safe where the reserve is kept, the utmost care is taken against the possibility of its loss. Besides, the strain on the paying teller is thereby lessened. It is quite enough to give him the sole control of the cash which the daily requirements of the business need, and the conscientious teller would rejoice if his responsibility for keeping this could in any way be lessened.

The cash he pays out daily, or a large portion, must be in his custody; and to render his responsibility complete, no other one is permitted ordinarily to have anything to do with it. If others could go to his safe, in the event of a loss or irregularity, it might be difficult to fix the blame. The concentrating of responsibility is one of the desirable things in a bank, for mistakes and thefts will occur, and it is therefore desirable to have the duties and responsibilities of each official as clearly defined as possible, in order to know where to look, whom to charge, when an irregularity has occurred. So the paying teller needs for his own protection to be solely responsible for the cash that he must daily use. Yet there are times when others must go to his safe; for example, when he is sick and can not attend, or when the bank examiner or a director wishes to make an examination.

2. Should Be Familiar With Money

He ought to be familiar with the different kinds of money he pays out. First may be mentioned the notes issued by the government. These may be divided into treasury notes, often known as greenbacks or legal tenders, because they can be used for making all payments except to the government for duties on imports; silver certificates, which are issued for silver dollars; and silver treasury notes issued for silver purchased by the government during the years 1890-1893. Besides these kinds of paper money there are notes issued by the banks, which are a legal tender in payments to each other. In addition to the paper money are various gold and silver pieces.