Paragon Application Systems signs five-year licensing agreement

Paragon Application Systems has signed a five-year software-licensing agreement with Evertec Inc., a San Juan, Puerto Rico-based transaction processor, to upgrade its ATMs for the visually impaired.

Paragon installed voice-guidance instructions on an undisclosed number of NCR Corp. ATMs, enabling the visually impaired to plug ear phones into the ATM and hear text commands guiding them through their transaction, Jim Perry, Paragon's vice president of sales and marketing, told ATMmarketplace.com.

Evertec, which drives full-function ATMs for client banks on the island, upgraded the machines to comply with the 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act, although the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico is not a state, but an unincorporated territory of the United States. Puerto Rico's banks want to function in accordance with America's banking regulations, Perry said.

Evertec added text to speech to prepare the visually impaired for Evertec's ATH Network, an electronic funds transfer network in Puerto Rico, Virgin Islands, the Dominican Republic, Costa Rica and El Salvador, Victor Barrantes, Paragon' regional sales manager for Latin America, said in a statement.

Evertec has purchased Paragon's products and services for several years. Paragon is based in Holly Springs, N.C.