How To Become A Lead Teller: What It Is and Career Path

What is a lead teller and how to become one

Updated January 8, 2025

4 min read

A lead teller maintains a cash drawer, balances and audits the cash drawer according to policy and schedule. They supervise other bank tellers and their cash drawers, search for the cause of an overage or shortage when a teller's drawer doesn't balance correctly, motivates the other bank teller's to remain friendly and professional at all times, trains new tellers in bank practice, and procedures, handles upset or irate customers, provides access to the vault and safety deposit boxes, replenishes and troubleshoots ATM machines, carries money to the vault and audits the vault regularly with the help of a second employee, relays information to bank officials and creates reports at the end of each shift for reference.

A lead teller demonstrates supervisory skills and the ability to manage others fairly. They possess the ability to motivate other tellers when they are not meeting their goals, have the ability to stay professional at all times, display responsibility and initiative by reporting for duty on time during each scheduled shift.

On average, they earn $30,203 per year, that's $14.52 per hour. They require a bachelor's degree in any field but especially finance or business. It is impossible to become one with only a high school diploma.

ScoreLead TellerUS Average

Salary

3.3

Avg. Salary $42,554

Avg. Salary $59,228

Stability Level

8.5

Growth Rate -12%

Growth Rate 0.3%

Diversity

4.5

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 0.60%

Asian 6.79%

Black or African American 8.53%

Hispanic or Latino 23.76%

Unknown 3.35%

White 56.98%

Gender

female 75.88%

male 24.12%

Age - 36

Race

American Indian and Alaska Native 3.00%

Asian 7.00%

Black or African American 14.00%

Hispanic or Latino 19.00%

White 57.00%

Gender

female 47.00%

male 53.00%

Age - 36

Stress Level

8.5

Stress level is very high

7.1 - high

Complexity Level

4.9

Complexity Level is intermediate

7 - challenging

Work Life Balance

10.0

Work Life balance is excellent

6.4 - fair

Key steps to become a lead teller

Explore lead teller education requirements

Most common lead teller degrees

Bachelor's

43.7 %

High School Diploma

23.5 %

Associate

23.2 %

Start to develop specific lead teller skills

Skills	Percentages
Customer Service	15.17%
Financial Transactions	8.18%
Cash Handling	7.57%
Customer Interaction	7.40%
Product Knowledge	6.71%

Complete relevant lead teller training and internships

Accountants spend an average of Less than 1 month on post-employment, on-the-job training. New lead tellers learn the skills and techniques required for their job and employer during this time. The chart below shows how long it takes to gain competency as a lead teller based on U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics data and data from real lead teller resumes.

Gain additional lead teller certifications

Lead teller certifications can show employers you have a baseline of knowledge expected for the position. Certifications can also make you a more competitive candidate. Even if employers don't require a specific lead teller certification, having one may help you stand out relative to other applicants.

The most common certifications for lead tellers include Certified Management Accountant (CMA) and Certified Bank Teller (CBT).

More About Certifications

Research lead teller duties and responsibilities

Achieve quarterly sale goals through upselling and referrals to financial specialist.
Assist tellers with completion of CRT and BSA forms.
Prepare and review currency transaction, secrecy act, and monetary instrument reports.
Ensure tellers are aware of BSA requirements and the branch are compliant in transactions.

Get lead teller experience

Prepare your lead teller resume

When your background is strong enough, you can start writing your lead teller resume.

You can use Zippia's AI resume builder to make the resume writing process easier while also making sure that you include key information that hiring managers expect to see on a lead teller resume. You'll find resume tips and examples of skills, responsibilities, and summaries, all provided by Zippi, your career sidekick.

Choose From 10+ Customizable Lead Teller Resume templates

Build a professional Lead Teller resume in minutes. Browse through our resume examples to identify the best way to word your resume. Then choose from 10+ resume templates to create your Lead Teller resume.

Apply for lead teller jobs

Now it's time to start searching for a lead teller job. Consider the tips below for a successful job search:

Browse job boards for relevant postings
Consult your professional network
Reach out to companies you're interested in working for directly
Watch out for job scams

How do lead tellers rate their job?