STRATEGIC PARTNERS
February 21, 2002
SAN FRANCISCO -- Wells Fargo and the California Council of the Blind announced that 20 Wells Fargo talking ATMS are now up and running in the Bay Area, Los Angeles and San Diego areas.
Through voice instruction, the new machines tell users who cannot read information on an ATM screen how to deposit money, withdraw cash, transfer funds and buy stamps. The ATMs have audio jacks to deliver voice information privately to protect the security of blind and low vision users.
Working with the California Council of the Blind to meet the needs of vision-impaired customers, Wells Fargo announced on June 23 that it would pilot 20 talking ATMs this year. After the successful completion of the pilot, Wells Fargo plans to install a talking ATM at each of the more than 1,500 Wells Fargo ATM locations in California.
Catherine Skivers, president of the California Council of the Blind, said, "We are excited that Wells Fargo's talking ATMs in the pilot locations are ready for use by the blind and visually impaired people and we applaud the work that Wells Fargo has done over the past months to make these machines a reality."
"We are proud of our commitment to serve our diverse group of customers, including those who are blind or have low vision," said Terri Dial, Wells Fargo's head of retail banking in California. "We were the first in the country to draw up a plan for developing and installing talking ATMs and we look forward to testing and rolling them out and to working closely with the California Council of the Blind to improve ATM access for vision impaired customers."
The California Council, with 46 chapters statewide, is an affiliate of the American Council of the Blind. Four blind individuals; the Disability Rights Education and Defense Fund, Berkeley; the law firm of Saperstein, Goldstein, Demchak & Baller, Oakland; and the Law Office of Elaine B. Feingold, Berkeley; also participated in the planning.
