Perfect Phrases for ESL Everyday Situations

Perfect Phrases for ESL Everyday Situations

CHAPTER   image
The Bank
Banks offer checking and savings accounts as well as other financial services. Lending departments provide personal and business loans, mortgages, and lines of credit. Your banker can help you send money by wire transfers. Financial advice and investment brokerage services are available at some banks. Banks offer their own credit cards and may provide life insurance. Most banks have branches within communities, states, and throughout the country. Major banks are international.
Banks charge many fees for services. Often these charges are not clear. Ask about them. You may also be able to earn interest on certain accounts. Ask questions to ensure that you get all the benefits available to you.
Phrases You May Hear in the Bank
image    You must maintain a balance of at least $100 in your checking account to avoid fees.
image    If you maintain a balance of at least___________($100, $500, $1,000), we will pay you interest.
image    Your money is insured by the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) for up to $250,000.
image    If you write a check for more than you have in your checking account, we will not honor it.
image    If you write a check that exceeds your balance, we will charge you a $25 fee.
image    Would you like to arrange for us to use your savings account to cover an overdraft in your checking account?
image    We provide overdraft protection.
image    We offer many savings choices: savings accounts, CDs, money market accounts, cash back on debit cards.
image    Do you have your bank card?
image    May I see your ID?
image    Do you know how to use the ATM?
image    Some companies, such as___________(utilities, mortgage companies, cell phone providers), may, with your written consent, automatically charge your checking account. Know which these are so you can deduct those charges from your balance.
Phrases to Say in the Bank
image    I want to open a savings account.
image    I want to open a checking account.
image    How much must I keep in my checking account to earn interest?
image    What is your current interest rate on savings accounts?
image    Please explain your debit card program.
image    What fees should I expect? Please explain.
image    Can you show me how to use the ATM?
image    How do I manage my account online?
image    I would like to pay my bills online. Can you help me with that?
image    I’d like to talk with someone about a___________(personal loan, business loan, home equity loan).
image    I would like to learn about___________(getting a mortgage, refinancing a mortgage).
image    My___________(husband, wife, partner) and I want to open a joint___________(savings, checking) account.
image    I would like to add my___________(husband, wife, partner, son, daughter) to my___________(savings account, checking account, CD, money market account).
image    How do I open an account for my newborn granddaughter?
image    I have a small business in town, and I would like a line of credit to help me___________(manage cash flow, buy equipment, expand my staff).
image    My check was returned by the telephone company. Why?
image    How can I prevent this from happening in the future?
image    May I have a money order for___________(amount)?
image    Can you help me wire money to my son in___________ (California, India)?
image    I hear that you offer a___________(Christmas Club, Holiday Club) account. Please explain how that works.
Idioms and Other Vocabulary
ATM: automatic teller machine, a machine that will cash your checks, take your deposits, and allow your withdrawals without a human teller
Balance: the amount of money in your account at all times
Bank card: a bank customer card that proves identification to protect the customer and the bank
Benefits: things that are in your favor or best interest
Branches (also stores): bank locations
Cash flow: movement of money in and out of business or personal accounts
CDs: certificates of deposit that have a stated maturity date and interest rate
Cover: make up the amount of money you are short
Debit card: card that permits an immediate deduction from your bank account for a charge
Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC): the department of the U.S. government that insures all banks and their deposits up to $250,000 per person
Fees: money charged for services
Financial services: any service that helps you manage your money
Home equity loan: money borrowed by using home ownership as security
Honor: allow, cash
Interest: money your money earns
Investment brokerage: a service that invests clients’ money for them in stocks and bonds for a fee
Joint: involving two or more people
Lines of credit: access to borrowing money from banks or other lending institutions
Maintain: keep
Overdraft: writing a check for more money than you have in your account
Overdraft protection: a service that the bank offers to honor checks that are overdrawn and treat the money as a loan with interest
Refinancing: money provided again for a large purchase, maybe a home, to improve the terms of the original loan
Wire transfers: a way to send money from one bank to another without physically sending a check