CHAPTER VIII.

OPENING A BANKING ACCOUNT.

When a person wishes to open an account with a bank he usually takes an introduction to them, and having paid in a sum of money he writes in the signature book his name, address and occupation, and thus shows the bank his signature by signing his name in the same way in which he intends to sign his cheques, so that, in cases of doubt, the bank can verify his signature upon any of his cheques or bills of exchange. He is then supplied with a cheque book containing a certain number of blank cheques either to bearer or to order as desired, the amount of which, for the value of the stamps only, his account will be debited. A book of paying-in forms is also supplied free of charge, so that he may record upon them the amount of bank notes, gold, silver, cheques or bills of exchange as they are paid into the bank for collection. The following is a leaf from a paying-in book. On the counterfoil is recorded the name of the party from whom the cheque has been received for copying into our account books, while on the slip itself we only insert the amounts under their proper headings, and fill in the total.

The separation in this way of the various items paid into a bank is of great importance to them, because it facilitates their work in book-keeping.

Example of a Book of Paying-in Slips.

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Customers paying in before quarter-past-3 o'clock, and on SATURDAYS before quarter-past-1 o'clock, will greatly facilitate business.

THE BLANK JOINT STOCK BANK LIMITED,
LEADENHALL STREET, E.C.

Credit..

Bank Notes......

Gold...

Silver..

Cheques, &c....

SHORT BILLS.

£ S. d.

Date.

Total £

N.B.-Cheques drawn on this Branch are paid through the Clearing House.

Having filled in the leaf, we take the book to the bank, and hand it to the cashier, who checks the amounts on the counterfoil with the amounts on the slip and initials the counterfoil if found correct. He then tears out the slip which is called the paying-in slip, and hands the book back to us again. When country cheques are paid in, a book of a different colour-usually green-is used.

The banker also gives us free of charge a pass book showing a complete record of all sums received and paid by us, and which is in fact a copy of our account in the bank ledger. The left or Dr. side of the pass book shows the amounts we have paid into the bank, and on the right or Cr. side the amount we have either received ourselves or paid away to others. Pass books should be frequently left with the bank to be made up, by being dropped into the box marked "Pass Books," and if not returned oftener, they should at least be deposited some days previous to the 30th June and 31st December in each year, in order that they may be balanced and agreed with the bank ledger.

Merchants who accept bills usually make them payable at their bankers, and they are consequently paid into their bank by the holders for collection at maturity in the same manner as cheques.

In all the large banks all cheques are paid by one set of clerks, called paying cashiers, who become experts in their knowledge of signatures and other technical work which a bank cashier should know, and when the signature on a cheque appears doubtful to them, the cheque is usually referred to us for verification.

MONEY ON DEPOSIT.

When a customer wishes to transfer a sum of money from his current account to a deposit account at " call,"

or at a seven days' or other notice of withdrawal, he obtains from the bank cashier a printed slip on white paper in the following form, and after filling in the particulars required, he hands the slip back to the cashier, who then passes the transfer through the books.

Example of a slip transferring money from current to deposit

When it is desired to transfer any amount back from deposit to current account, we obtain and sign a blue slip as follows:

Example of a slip transferring money from deposit to current

Where no fixed rate is agreed upon, the interest allowed on deposits at call and notice is a varying one, dependent upon the bank rate, and is fully explained in money market, to which the reader is referred, and the account is usually credited either quarterly or half yearly. In some cases, however, when the deposit is withdrawn after a short period, the interest is credited to our account at once.

DEPOSIT RECEIPT.

When money is placed on deposit at a fixed rate of interest for a stated time, it is usual for a bank to issue a deposit receipt in the following form :

Example of a Deposit Receipt.

Deposit Receipt.
No.

THE BLANK BANK, LIMITED,

London, 1st January, 1901.

Received of James Grant, Esq., the sum of One Hundred Pounds for two years, to bear interest at the rate of 3 per cent. per annum for that period only, from the 1st inst.

For the Blank Bank, Limited.

Manager.

Similar receipts are given by the many Discount Houses and others who borrow money for stated periods at a fixed percentage rate.