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Feds want ATMs to
'talk'
By Holden
Lewis • Bankrate.com
 Two
facts: Automated teller machines frustrate consumers who can't see
or have limited vision. Bank lobbyists oppose a federal regulation
that would require some ATMs to speak for the benefit of blind customers.
The
Access Board, an independent federal agency that suggests updates
to the Americans With Disabilities Act, has proposed that all ATM
locations be outfitted with at least one machine that delivers spoken
instructions.
The American
Bankers Association says the
proposal doesn't take into account the technical complications
of making ATMs talk. The Consumer
Bankers Association and the Electronic Funds Transfer Association
complain that it would cost $10,000 to update each ATM, and that
machines at many locations would be removed instead of upgraded.
"The way it's drafted, it's technologically
unfeasible at this point," says Nessa Feddis, senior federal counsel
for the American Bankers Association.
The
biggest problem
The most difficult part of the proposal is a rule that would
require the machine to speak the information printed on the receipt,
she says. "If you take out the receipt information requirement,
it's probably technologically feasible, but expensive."
She hopes that, at least, the Access Board exempts
existing ATMs, adopting the speech requirement for newly installed
machines. Meanwhile, visually impaired customers could get balance
information through their institution's telephone banking service,
which most banks offer.
The Consumer Bankers Association argues that
the rule, if adopted, would cause ATM operators to yank machines
from public places.
"We believe that the requirements will not enhance,
and may even hinder, access to ATM services for visually impaired
individuals," CBA representative John Ward told the Access Board
in a hearing March 13. Ward also represented the Electronic Funds
Transfer Association.
The
limitations of Braille
You might wonder why the Access Board would even consider requiring
ATMs to speak. After all, most of them are equipped for people who
read Braille. But it turns out that you can't do much at an ATM
using Braille.
"It's somewhat useful, but only if you're doing
a very simple transaction," says Melanie Brunson, director of advocacy
and governmental affairs for the American Council of the Blind.
"The more complex the transaction, the less useful the Braille is."
In practice, this means that blind people can
withdraw money but can't make deposits or perform other transactions.
Even withdrawing money can be a problem because "banks change the
sequence of buttons you push. Just when you've got it memorized,
they change it," Brunson says.
She adds that many visually impaired people
don't read Braille. Diabetes is a leading cause of blindness, and
the same factors that cause a diabetic to lose sight also cause
a loss of sensation in the fingertips. Elderly people who lose their
sight often find it difficult to learn Braille because "the older
you get the harder it is to learn," Brunson says. And the folks
who browse the large-print section of the library might find it
impossible to read the small print on ATM screens. They're not legally
blind, but visually impaired nonetheless.
At a time when financial institutions are adding
features to ATMs, allowing customers to pay bills, view credit card
statements, buy postage stamps and so on, it's not too much to ask
them to accommodate visually impaired consumers, Brunson argues.
The proposed rule would require ATMs to deliver
audible instructions through an audio mini jack, a telephone handset
or a wireless transmission system to accord customers their privacy.
-- Posted: March 20, 2000
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