The most common route to becoming a Certified International Retail Banker is to follow the full IARB curriculum. This consists of 25 days of training and three exams. This is the only way to ensure that you have access to 100 percent of the retail banking best practices that have been compiled exclusively for the IARB.

All training will be delivered by retail banking experts, in many cases the authors of the IARB curriculum. Each level of training is followed by an exam. After the completion of all three levels and their respective exams, you will be awarded with the CIRB.




Self-guided Study (Foundation/Intermediate: 80 Hours; Expert: 40 Hours)

Between the end of the classroom sessions and the administration of each level’s exam, students will be assigned readings, homework and writing assignments. Each level’s diploma will be awarded upon completing the classroom portion, the self-guided study assignments and the final exam.

Core IARB Certification Exams

Each level of the IARB certification is awarded upon successful completion of an exam. The exam is administered at the same location(in most cases) as the training. There will be no more than four weeks between the conclusion of the training segment and the exam.

The exam will consist of multiple-choice, short-answer and essay questions. The exams will be evaluated by the central administration of the IARB.