Talking ATMs set stage for new enhancements

Talking ATMs are becoming more commonplace, with Bank of America leading the charge. Last month, B of A announced that its entire fleet of more than 18,000 ATMs now feature a "talking" option for sight-impaired users.

B of A's transformation to all-talking ATMs began with an announcement in 2000, when the bank said it would create a comprehensive plan to install talking ATMs at all of its U.S. locations.

Bank of America was the first American bank to make such an announcement.

But B of A's ATMs were initially on the OS/2 operating system, which was not capable of supporting audio technology, said Eric Perlmutter, B of A's ATM channel executive. Once the operating system switched to Windows, the project was able to continue.

B of A started piloting ATMs in 2005 and 2006, and began the talking ATM rollout in 2007. Installation of the new ATMs were part of a three-year process that wrapped in December 2009. Perlmutter said the catalyst was customer requests for the technology.

The deployment involved upgrades to existing ATMs as well as new ATM installations. If the machine was ready to be replaced, Perlmutter says it was replaced with a new ATM that offered an audio feature. B of A used proprietary software for the talking ATMs.

Similar advances hit retail

Beyond financial institutions, other business sectors are catching on. Best Buy recently replaced its old point-of-sale devices with new POS devices that have tactile keypads. The rollout has begun and all Best Buy stores nationwide are expected to have the tactile keypads by the end of September.

Lainey Feingold, an attorney who represented the California Council of the Blind in structured negotiations with Bank of America says the benefits for tactile keypads are similar to those for talking ATMs. The old point-of-sale devices were touchscreen, meaning blind users of debit cards had to tell someone else their PINs.

"We are pleased to collaborate with organizations committed to advocacy for the blind and introduce service enhancements in our stores that will improve the experience for Best Buy's visually impaired customers," said Barry Judge, Best Buy executive vice president and chief marketing officer.

How it works and why it matters

As B of A worked to create talking ATMs, it brought in blind customers to test the machines and give feedback. Now, the process is simple. A customer simply inserts headphones into a headphone jack at the machine. The type of headphones does not matter. Once the headphones are inserted, the system is activated and the audio feature begins giving users audible options, such as the ability to hear user instructions in English or Spanish. Once the user inserts her ATM card, more instructions are provided via the talking feature.

ATMs without voice instructions created security concerns for blind users. Since blind users could not read instructions, they often times would have to give someone else their PINs to enter into the machine.

"The core of this issue is security and privacy. No one should have to tell someone else their PIN," Feingold said. "It's a very liberating thing to be able to go to an ATM and get money without having to tell someone else your PIN number."

Feingold's structured negotiations with B of A included led to what she calls "a milestone of accessible technology for blind people."

Talking ATMs actually back to 1997, when the first audio-enabled ATM was installed at the corner of Bank St. and Queen St. in Ottawa, Ontario. The ATM was an NCR Corp. ATM owned by the Royal Bank of Canada. In 1984, two blind customers, Chris and Marie Stark, voiced concerns to the bank. Those concerns led to a complaint in 1991 with the Canadian Human Rights Commission.

In the United States, talking ATMs began popping up in 1999, when a Diebold Inc. ATM was installed at the San Francisco City Hall installed. The ATM was owned by the San Francisco Credit Union.

Photo by corrinely.