News
Getting along on ADA?
Yes, if a meeting hosted by the Electronic Funds Transfer Association is any indication. United by their interest in proposed changes to ADA regulations, the ATM industry and the visually impaired community are engaged in a continuing dialogue on how to make ATMs more accessible to all.
January 1, 2002
ARLINGTON, Va. -- When Microsoft and other heavy hitters in the computer industry made PCs talk, members of the visually impaired community began to wonder why text-to-speech technology couldn't be introduced on other PC-based equipment – like ATMs.
"The idea that you could make a piece of technology talk was something we started to take for granted," said Curtis Chong, director of technology for the National Federation of the Blind, addressing about 50 ATM industry representatives in attendance at yesterday's "New ADA Challenges to the ATM Industry," an all-day meeting sponsored by the Electronic Funds Transfer Association.
Requiring voice-guided technology at ATMs is one of the ideas being considered by the federal Access Board, which introduced a set of proposed changes to the Americans with Disabilities Act/Architectural Barriers Act on Nov. 16, 2000.
After several months of seeking public comment, the board hopes to introduce a set of proposed guidelines this summer. The Department of Justice may choose to adopt the Access Board's recommendations, but will gather additional public comment first – a process that could take up to a year, said Nessa Feddis, senior federal counsel for the American Bankers Association.
Chong described a "growing level of frustration" among the visually impaired about the lack of accessibility at ATMs. Manufacturers began adding Braille to ATM keypads after the Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1992, but Chong said it didn't adequately address the needs of blind users. "While you had Braille on the keys, you couldn't read the screen instructions. So if it was flashing that you had made an error, you had no way of knowing it," he said.
He said that blind ATM users like himself, who navigated their way through transactions by memorizing them, became more frustrated when banks began deploying higher-tech machines equipped with features such as touchscreens that were more, rather than less, difficult for the visually impaired to use.
The NFB filed a lawsuit against Diebold in May of 2000, in which it contended that Diebold was not in compliance with the ADA because it installed ATMs that were inaccessible to the blind in Rite Aid stores. The NFB dropped the suit six months later and is now working with Diebold on developing voice-guided technology for its machines.
Alan Looney, Diebold's director of product planning and management, said the manufacturer plans to begin shipping CashSource Plus 200 cash dispensers with audio technology next month. The first such machine went online earlier this month at NFB headquarters in Baltimore. The CSP 200 was the model that had been installed at the Rite Aid locations.
Among the audio features on the new CSP 200, Looney said, are volume control and "repeat" and "help" functions. The machine has voice support for cash withdrawals, transfers and balance inquiries, as well as surcharge screens. All audio functions are mapped to the numeric keypad.
Volume control and "repeat" and "help" options are among the items on the wish list of most blind ATM users, Chong said, along with the ability to halt audio instructions so that users familiar with the process wouldn't have to listen to lengthy verbiage before completing their transactions.
"You can already do this on PCs," he said. "You want it to react like a sports car, not like a Mack truck."
In the past year or so, Chong said he has been encouraged by such signs of progress such as the partnership with Diebold and a series of meetings between representatives of the ATM industry and advocacy groups like the NFB.
"I believe that non-visual access to ATMs will happen," he said. "I'm optimistic that I'll be able to walk up to most ATMs in the country and plug in my headphones to use them."
Several large financial institutions, including Bank of America, Wells Fargo and Fleet Bank, have begun introducing ATMs equipped with voice-guided technology. Nandita Bakhshi, Fleet's senior vice president of self-service/ATM banking, was on hand to demonstrate one of the bank's voice-equipped machines, a Diebold 1062ix.
Bakhshi admitted that Fleet first became involved because it was concerned about lawsuits or other possible actions by the visually impaired community. However, she said, the bank's motivation changed after working with the Boston-based Disability Law Center and Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Mass.
"It started out as something that we felt that we needed to do because it would become mandatory, but as we got involved with the community, it became different. We started to ask ourselves why we hadn't looked at doing something before," she said.
The bank has introduced 60 talking machines so far and plans to increase the number to 100 by year end. The eventual goal is to roll out 1,420 talking ATMs by 2003. Currently, voice technology is available for cash withdrawals, balance inquiries, cash transfers and deposits. Bakhshi said Fleet hopes to add more advanced transactions, including stamp purchases and PIN changes, by 2002.
Feddis said that while some "intrepid souls" like Fleet are introducing voice-guided technology before changes are mandated by the federal government, other ATM owners are taking a "wait and see" attitude. Some are concerned that if current efforts don't meet the standards that are eventually adopted, they will have to make expensive revisions later.
She believes a proactive stance is better, however. "I think you're less likely to become a target if you're doing something," Feddis said.
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