For blind or visually handicapped persons the use of an ATM is problematical: various devices, different features and processes are challenging. In the course of the project “bank4all” organizations for visually handicapped and blind persons cooperating with banking partners and software producers worked on a standardization. A new project website helps to find ATMs in Austria with a new software which makes it easier for blind or visually handicapped persons to use an ATM.
At the beginning a criteria catalogue was created together with blind and visually handicapped experts to define the minimum requirements for the ATM hardware, software and the ATM locations. All project partners agreed to meet these criteria in the context of software development for ATMs or adapting existing solutions as good as possible. In the previous year the audio support was implemented for customers who cannot see the content on the screen. Furthermore the implementation of an additional screen layout with high contrasts for persons, who couldn’t read the standard screens well enough, was started.
On the barrier-free website of the project www.bank4all.at ATMs in Austria with the following features can be located:
Audio support: users with earphones are guided through cash withdrawal and balance inquiry by audio information and by pressing buttons of the PIN pad (not by touchscreen).
Denomination selection: users can search for ATMs with audio support including the selection of different denominations.
Contrast: for cash withdrawal and balance inquiry screens with big letters and a high contrast are available. Consistently denomination selection is also implemented in this mode of operation if available.
Project partners are BAWAG PSK, Erste Bank and Sparkasse, Hypo NÖ, PSA Payment Services Austria, Raiffeisen Bankengruppe, UniCredit Bank Austria, Volksbank Gruppe, as well as Blickkontakt, Hilfsgemeinschaft der Blinden und Sehschwachen Österreichs und Österreichische Blindenwohlfahrt. The cooperation with ARZ (Allgemeines Rechenzentrum) additionally enabled an implementation on ATMs of further banks, which are not directly partners in the project.
As SBS provides the ATM software for more than 50 percent of all ATMs in Austria the company wasinvited to accompany the process as a software partner.