The European Accessibility Act (EAA) was passed five years ago in June 2019, with the provision that national laws need to be passed until June 28, 2025. With about a year left to go until this deadline, let’s take a closer look at accessibility in self-service banking.
The EAA stipulates that financial services, including the ATM, must become accessible – tightening previously existing accessibility requirements. As a result, manufacturers and deployers may need to rethink the way they install devices or even the design to comply with these stricter regulations. The EAA provides a catalog of requirements that all new installations will need to fulfill. One of the biggest changes may be that all new devices will need to be accessible – previously some branches provided one accessible device while others were not necessarily compliant. Under the new rules, every financial services provider will need to declare the accessibility of their fleet in a CE-declaration – the CE mark signifies that a product fulfills all relevant EU regulations and has undergone all required tests. Should someone request it they also need to provide a report that proves compliance with the standards provided in the “Accessibility requirements for ICT products and services” EN 301549.
Disability comes in many forms: hearing impairments, visual impairments, or mobility impairments of varying degrees are just some examples. Someone with a disability will often find themselves barred from participation in daily life because their environment is only built to accommodate what we perceive as the norm. This can be changed when structures and environments are changed to fulfill other needs as well.
Of course, accessibility is a global topic and other countries have their own regulations like the United States’ Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). But, amid these major developments in Europe, let’s have a look at what is required and what you can do to remove barriers and make your ATM accessible.
The ATM is a convergence point and a crucial touchpoint to access financial services. So, it must be accessible to all – a challenge that requires accessibility to be a key concern in the development of any solution. Here are some examples of requirements under the new law and how they can be fulfilled or even expanded on:
Speech guidance is required under the new rules. It can be a great help to anyone with a visual impairment. Still, as transactions at an ATM require a high degree of privacy this is best done via the inclusion of a headphone jack that is easy to find and distinguish – for example, with a tactile symbol for better distinction. As such, the EAA requires the inclusion of a headphone jack at each device in the future. Multilingual text-to-speech guidance and adjustable volume should be the standard for this type of support.
Height and reach requirements are a key part of accessibility regulations and must be a key concern in the design and installation of an ATM. Important factors are the highest point of the interface users need to be able to reach but also how deeply they must reach forward to access their cash-in/-out tray. This is especially important for people who use a wheelchair or other mobility aid. On older devices where the screen and/or the standard user interface do not fulfill these requirements, a simple solution is to include an “accessibility mode”: Using an existing hardware button, the upper area of the screen would be pulled down so the user interface can be operated even with limited reach. This mode would automatically deactivate when turned on by accident or no longer in use and could retrofit existing systems without the need for costly and complicated hardware and construction adjustments.
Guiding the user through the transaction is another way to make the ATM more accessible. One key factor here is the encrypted PIN pad (EPP) as it can also be used for alternative navigation. A standardized layout with an elevated point on the number 5 – also known as a braille dot – makes orientation much easier as it is the central point for speech guidance. For users who retain limited vision, transaction guidance can additionally be supported with easy-to-spot visual aids like illuminating the points of interaction.
While we like grouping people, impairments are highly individual and can require varied adjustments to ensure accessibility. There is no one-size-fits-all solution. As a result, designing a solution that is accessible to all is complicated. Many solutions we have mentioned are compromises. In the future, controlling the ATM via the personal mobile device might be a solution: Personal devices like smartphones and tablets are adapted to the individual needs of differently abled users and support NFC, Bluetooth or QR barcodes. All of these could be used to complete transactions that are (pre-) defined by the user on their personal device that is already perfectly adjusted to their needs.
Overall, it’s important to develop solution concepts together with the affected user groups. Usually, these will be simpler and more usable for everyone. This not only lowers the costs but also increases the speed of implementation and increases acceptance from all parties involved. In any case, doing nothing is not an option: 8 million Europeans use a wheelchair, 28 million have forms of visual impairment, and 66 million Americans have some type of disability. Disabilities influence more peoples’ daily lives than one might think and to ensure financial inclusion for all, the ATM must be designed to meet everyone’s needs.
Diebold Nixdorf’s
DN Series® ATMs and Vynamic® Software Portfolio are designed with accessibility in mind and tested by user groups including differently abled testers. If you’d like to learn more about the topic, contact your Diebold Nixdorf representative today.
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