This article appeared in the ATM & Financial Self-Service Executive Summary, Winter 2006.

While the Department of Justice (DOJ) has yet to approve proposed revisions to the Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990, many financial institutions and independent sales organizations are waiting to make the audio-guidance leap.

But ADA experts say waiting will likely lead to almost-certain litigation.

Berkeley, Calif., disability rights attorney Lainey Feingold said the U.S. Department of Justice, which is expected to approve guideline revisions in 2006, isn't likely to bestow mercy upon those who wait. "To ask for a delay to the new regulations now would be a rollback, really, to something that's been in place since 1992," Feingold said.

After the U.S. Access Board released its July 2004 ADA revisions - which included a new requirement for audio-enabled ATMs -DOJ allowed the industry to review the revisions and submit comments by May 2005.

Now, Feingold said, eight months after the comment deadline, every ATM operator should be moving forward instead of making excuses.

"The small banks said they need more time to do this but there are small banks doing it now. The idea of independent-usability - I don't think that is debatable in this country anymore."

"I think we have more than 30,000 (talking ATMs) in the U.S. today, and anyone who does not have a talking ATM in place right now is at risk of litigation," she added.

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So why are some waiting?

Timothy Hoyle of Reading, Pa.-based IRB Consulting Group said he's "amazed" by the number of FIs that are waiting to upgrade their fleets "until they are told they have to do it."

But FIs argue that the rules, even as they read today, leave a great deal of room for interpretation; the revisions also have gray areas. And that has left deployers concerned about investing in upgrades.

A case in point: In February 2005, the U.S. District Court for the District of Massachusetts ruled in favor of E*trade Access Inc. and E*trade Bank, both of which were sued by the National Federation of the Blind.

In its ruling, the court said E*trade is not required to provide headsets at ATMs, since current ADA guidelines "do not mandate or require headphone jacks."

Ambiguity has left some FIs scratching their heads, trying to balance business with practicality.

"Most just don't want to spend the money until they are required to" - albeit a risky decision, Hoyle said. "From a compliance perspective, I think those people are setting themselves up to spend more. If banks wait, their resources are going to be limited."

Deployers need to be proactive.

"If I were to guess, when the DOJ finally does put out the new regulations, I think they are going to give financial institutions a year or less, because the technology is there and the larger financial institutions are already doing it," he said.

Manufacturers set the pace

Manufacturers are taking the first step by making audio capabilities on ATMs standard features.

Long Beach, Miss.-based Triton Systems and North Canton, Ohio-based Diebold Inc., which were both approached by advocacy groups about accessibility issues, are taking compliance seriously.

Every Triton ATM shipped within the U.S. is equipped with speech technology, said Bill Jackson, Triton's vice president of research and development.

"Every terminal we send out now has audio guidance capabilities. The only ones in which the software actually supports this is the U.S., but all countries are capable of talking."

Diebold is working closely with groups like the National Federation of the Blind during ATM development, "to get user input upfront," said Dave Barker, a principal design and brand-integrity strategist for Diebold.

Diebold's Vectra ATM, which was released at the 2004 Bank Administration Institute Retail Delivery conference, was recognized by the Industrial Designers Society of America for being the first ATM to use haptic technology, which provides sensory feedback.

Instead of a keypad, Vectra is equipped with a dial, which allows users to navigate menus using their sense of touch.

"Users operate the dial in much the same way as a combination lock," Diebold said in a news release, "twisting it both clockwise and counterclockwise to make their selections."