STRATEGIC PARTNERS
February 27, 2002
PITTSBURGH -- Mellon Bank, N.A. will be among the first financial institutions on the East Coast to begin piloting the use of voice guided technology on its ATMs.
This technology, which is not yet commercially available, is intended to permit blind or visually impaired customers who cannot read information on a traditional ATM screen to plug a headset into an audio jack on the machine. Through the headset, the customer may then receive voice instructions on how to conduct ATM transactions.
Mellon's pilot calls for the installation and testing at up to 10 locations, primarily in the Pittsburgh and Philadelphia areas, later this year.
"We are excited to announce our plan to embark on the development and pilot installation off this new `talking' ATM technology in conjunction with our ATM vendors," said Paul S. Beideman, executive vice president and head of Mellon Retail Financial Services. "Our key responsibility to our customers is service, and we hope that voice guided technology, if proven successful during this pilot, will permit us to build upon existing means of access for our visually impaired and blind customers."
