English Unlimited HAK/HUM 4/5, Schulbuch mit Audio-CD und CD-ROM (mit Handelskorrespondenz)

63 Entreprene It’s an online world urship 05 LANGUAGE SKILLS EXPLORE EXTRAS Look at the highlighted words in 22 and 23 and find synonyms or antonyms for the following expressions. Synonyms Antonyms outlet to deposit (money) securities to credit giro account interest-free to raise a loan to lend property in cash to establish a company corporate or by selling shares business customer Talk together. 1 Would you like to work in a bank? Why /why not? 2 Which qualifications and skills should a good banker have in your opinion? 24 25 opening hours) or credit cards. Credit cards are issued by credit card institutes (e.g. American Express, Visa, Diners) via banks and, apart from being vital for online payments, are accepted by most shopping outlets, petrol stations, hotels and restaurants worldwide. As the cardholder’s account is only debited a few weeks after purchases or payments have been made, credit card spending is a form of short-term interest-free credit. If the credit card invoice is not paid on time and in full, the outstanding sum can be paid back in monthly instalments together with a rather high interest. Among recent developments are smart cards, which are equipped with a microchip rather than a magnetic stripe. They are more versatile as they can be uploaded with a certain sum and used as electronic wallets to pay for parking charges and to shop at vending machines, and they provide more security. Commercial Banks, finally, offer facilities for changing money (from one currency to another, based on the current exchange rate), a line of business that has dwindled in mainland Europe since the introduction of the euro (single currency). To make up for lost business, many banks diversified into advice-centred facilities, offering retirement and savings products, insurance (e.g. life insurance) and the services formerly provided by building societies, as well as real estate . Electronic or e-banking and e-enabled accounts as well as the reorganisation of branches along ‘assisted self-service’ lines – with account maintenance terminals in self-service foyers where bank customers do a lot of the work formerly done by bank clerks – allowed banks to limit costs by reducing the number of outlets and staff. Explore reading: Online banking Mini research project. Research electronic banking in Austria. Find out what percentage of bank customers use e-banking, which advantages it offers and which dangers it involves. Compare and discuss your findings in class. Read the article about online banking on the next page. First decide whether the statements (1–6) are true (T) or false (F) and put a cross ( ) in the correct box. Then identify the sentence in the text which supports your decision. Write the first four words of this sentence in the space provided. There may be more than one correct answer; write down only one. The first one (0) has been done for you. 26 27 Nur zu Prüfzwecken – Eigentum des Verlags öbv