Recently 4D and 4C visited the Metro Bank. We walked from Widford Lodge to the bank in the centre of Chelmsford.
When we got there the first thing most of us noticed was that there was a lot of red because red is their colour. Then the staff told us to sit down and we would be sorted into three groups. There were about thirteen in each group. Some of us started with looking at the vaults. There were over a thousand of them and they each had their own different key. There were actually two of the keys because the owner of the vault has one key and a member of staff has the other. So, the owner can’t open the vault without the staff and the staff can’t open it without the owner. They told us this was for security reasons.
Group 2 were talking about the magic money machine which is basically a cash machine. How the money machine works: you put your coins in the machine, then you put in your estimate of how much money you have and the machine counts it for you. After that the machine asks you if you would like to donate some to charity.
Group 3 were discussing what the staff do behind the desk. The staff told us they can accept any kind of money, such as euros, dollars and pounds. After that we talked about the scanning machine and how it works. It scans the notes and can tell if they’re real or not. Finally, we were all given a gift bag with a Metro Bank pen, a money box and some lollies.
We had already had visits from Metro Bank as well. We were given booklets about budgeting, saving and interest. Budgeting is all about planning on how to spend your money. Saving is when you keep your money in a piggy bank or in a big bank. Interest is when the bank basically thanks you for putting your money in the bank that you’re using and you might get a small bonus for keeping it there.
by Amelia
