‘Accessible cards’, a tactile way to make
banking so much easier for the blind
For the partially sighted, it can be difficult and frustrating at an ATM. Enter NatWest’s
user-friendly design
In an effort to assist partially sighted and blind customers, RBS/NatWest has become
the first UK bank to launch “accessible” bank cards that will be much easier to use. The
cards, which feature tactile markings and a notch to show what direction to insert them
in to an ATM, are the first banking products accredited by the Royal National Institute
of Blind People.
It comes as Barclays also launches a trial of an iPhone app that will signal to staff that
you need special assistance when you walk into a branch.
The RNIB says that almost two million people in the UK are living with sight loss of
varying degrees which makes many everyday tasks, including banking, difficult and
frustrating.
Until now many blind customers have had to keep various cards separate because there
was no way to differentiate between them. RBS says the new cards address some of the
most common problems, especially tactile markings to identify which card is which.
The reverse of the card has also been adapted with the needs of partially sighted
customers in mind. The telephone numbers have been placed on the front and the font
has been increased by more than 50% to make it easier to read. The new cards can be
ordered in all RBS and NatWest branches, online or through telephone banking and will
be issued within 48 hours at no cost.
More than 15,000 RBS and NatWest customers are registered as requiring large print,
braille or audio formats.
Ross McEwan, chief executive of RBS, said: “We want to be recognised as a bank that
listens to its customers and responds to their issues.
“It’s really important that we make banking as simple and easy as possible for all of our
customers and our ‘accessible’ cards are another step towards us earning back trust.”
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Steve Tyler of RNIB described the move as great news, but called on the other banks to
follow this lead and do more to help.
“The very basic requirement of identifying the right card and quickly determining which
way the card slots in to a machine or payment system has been solved by this
development.” he says. “Simple as it is, creating a card with tactile indicators that
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identify the card type as well as the way in which it should be used has been an
engineering challenge particularly to ensure that it doesn’t disrupt machinery.
“Hopefully the other banks will see that this is now possible and follow this lead.”
In 2012 Barclays launched “talking” cash machines which enable customers with poor
vision to use headphones to be guided through the services available.
This week Barclays also announced it is expanding an initiative first launched in
December aimed at making life easier for customers with disabilities.
Ten branches are trialling “beacon” technology. This involves using an iPhone app, in
which the customer can pre-log information about their condition and any special needs
– and, ideally, a photo – so that when they enter a branch an alert is sent to staff who are
then able to guide them to the service they require.
The bank says it was introduced because customers said they were fed up having to
repeatedly explain their condition and any resulting special needs.
Elaine Draper, director of accessibility and inclusion at Barclays says: “The work that
we have already carried out around accessibility has raised awareness of the issues that
people with disabilities face when entering bank branches.
“Beacons are the latest in a long line of innovative initiatives from Barclays designed to
make our customers lives easier, particularly important for people with non-visible
disabilities – something our customers have told us is an issue”.
The trial is being run at 10 branches: Sheffield, Chelmsford, Liverpool Lord Street,
Ipswich, Luton, Islington, York, Warrington, Eastbourne and Cheltenham.
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