The picture (Fig. 8.2) shows an ordinary working morning inside a bank branch, and almost every service named in this chapter is visible in it.
What is going on in the picture
- At the counter on the right, customers stand in a queue in front of the tellers. This is the cash counter — where a withdrawal slip is handed in and cash is paid out, and where cash and cheques are deposited.
- An electronic display board glows above the counter, showing figures — the kind of board a branch uses for token numbers and rates.
- At the desks, bank officers sit facing customers and hand them papers. This is where an account is opened, where a loan is discussed, and where forms are signed.
- In the front, an officer is passing a form and a card across to a woman customer — very likely a new account holder receiving her debit card or passbook.
- A customer waiting her turn is using her phone — netbanking and UPI now sit alongside the counter.
How to do the “ask your family” part
- Ask a family member for one specific visit: what did you go to the bank for?
- Ask what they had to carry (passbook, cheque book, ID proof, a filled slip) and roughly how long it took.
- Ask what they now do on the phone instead of at the branch — and what still needs a visit.
- Note the answers under three headings: deposit / withdrawal, loan or account opening, payment or transfer.
Sample answer: “My mother visited our branch last month to open a fixed deposit account for three years. She carried her passbook, her Aadhaar card and the money. The officer at the desk filled a form, took her signature and gave her a receipt showing the amount, the period and the rate of interest. She said the queue at the cash counter was long, but her own work was done at a desk in about twenty minutes. She added that she now checks her balance on the phone and uses UPI at the vegetable market, so she goes to the branch only three or four times a year — mainly for a passbook update or for something that needs a signature.”