Voice cards, video calls: 5 innovations in accessibility and banking

June 26, 2023 3:24 PM

Banks are finding creative ways to make their "offline" services — from branches to debit cards to contact centers — more accessible to people with disabilities.

They are using technology to go beyond their responsibilities under Title III of the Americans with Disabilities Act, which prohibits discrimination based on disability in "places of public accommodation." JPMorgan Chase designed a branch that prioritizes the needs of customers who are deaf and hard of hearing, and introduced one of its key features into the bank's other locations last year. Regions Financial in Birmingham, Alabama, upgraded the wheelchair lift in its portable branch when it replaced its old vehicle in 2019. A challenger bank in Turkey developed a debit card that gives users a verbal heads-up on what they are about to spend.

These advances are significant because digital banking has replaced only some of the needs for customers with disabilities to navigate branches, ATMs, contact centers and in-store spending. Moreover, "Disability impacts all of us, either temporarily or permanently," said Marsha Schwanke, a specialist at the Southeast ADA Center, which provides technical guidance on the ADA.

Some traditional bank spaces are lacking in this regard. An April report from Deloitte about how banks can better serve people with disabilities surveyed 1,000 people who self-identified as having a disability and 1,000 caregivers. About half said that banks could elevate their experience with assistive technologies. These could include Braille keypads, larger screens, more ergonomically designed keypads, voice-to-text or text-to-voice tools and specialized software for those with autism spectrum disorders, said Val Srinivas, banking and capital markets research leader at Deloitte. Also important to this community are evening and weekend hours that extend the time that caregivers can accompany their clients to physical locations.

Here are five notable ways that banks are removing barriers to customers with disabilities.

JPMorgan Chase branch built in partnership with Gallaudet University

Ivan Perez Nava, an associate banker at the JPMorgan Chase branch designed in partnership with Gallaudet University, signs the word "Chase" outside the branch.

A branch that prioritizes the deaf community

The difference between the JPMorgan Chase branch near Gallaudet University and all other Chase branches is palpable the moment you walk in the door. Visitors are greeted in both sign language and spoken English. Some employees are deaf; the branch contracts sign language interpreters to facilitate conversations between deaf employees, typically associate bankers, and hearing customers or staff.

This branch in Washington, D.C., is the only one outfitted to serve the deaf and hard-of-hearing community, from on-demand video interpretation to evocative art decorating the walls. But some of the technology it incorporated is taking a foothold in other branches. As of January 2022, all Chase branches nationwide have access to TransPerfect, a translation service where bankers helping a deaf customer can log onto a video call and request an ASL interpreter to join the conversation.

The interpreters, who are not full-time bank employees, can help facilitate basic tasks. But TransPerfect lets bankers discuss sensitive financial matters with deaf customers. Bluetooth microphones are installed at transaction windows and quick-service "booths" so hearing employees can have quiet conversations with customers who are equipped with Bluetooth hearing aids.

When Chase was preparing to enter the D.C. market in 2018, "there was a lot of conversation with community partners [and others] about what needs were out there that were being unmet," said Alfonso Guzman, mid-Atlantic regional director at Chase. "This was one of the top ones."

Subtle, low-tech touches embedded in the rest of the branch may wash over any visitors who don't rely on lip reading or sign language. Swivel chairs let deaf customers easily reorient themselves to whoever is speaking or signing. The windows are frosted so passersby cannot glimpse someone communicating personal information with their hands. The wood paneling behind the quick-service booths are reflective. A row of small white clay hands on a shelf spell out HUMANITY in sign language, while a painting conveys the sign for "mother" to symbolize that this is the mother branch for the deaf community. The branch was designed in partnership with Gallaudet University and opened in early 2020.

Although this branch is the only one of its kind in Chase's network, the bank is planning to open a location in Frederick, Maryland, later this year that may integrate similar elements.

A debit card that speaks for itself

Papara, a challenger bank in Turkey, offers six types of debit or payment cards. Most, including a premium metal card and a single-use virtual "ghost" card, are card forms that already exist in the market. But one, the Voice Card, which reads back purchases to visually impaired users, is unique.

Papara launched this card in the first quarter of 2023. Users will pair the card with their phones using near-field communication and turn on Bluetooth when they are ready to pay for an item. After tapping their card on the point-of-sale terminal, they can listen to the transaction amount as it is read through their phone before finalizing the purchase. The information transmitted from the POS system to the phone is encrypted.

The challenger bank built this capability with technology firm Thales Group, based in Paris, and BlindLook, an Istanbul-based company that creates technology for blind people. BlindLook also helped Papara think through some of the low-tech nuances. For example, the introductory letter enclosing new Voice Cards that customers receive in the mail is written in Braille.

Papara hopes to reach 2,000 customers with its Voice Card by the end of the year. The feedback so far, "is the most fulfilling part," said Birce Ciravoğlu, the mergers and acquisitions and expansion director at Papara. Visually impaired customers have described the card as an important milestone for their financial freedom and one that gives peace of mind for tracking their transactions.

"Our mission is to democratize the payments industry and be as inclusive as possible," said Ciravoğlu.

Schwanke points out that embossing debit cards is another way to assist users with orientation. Citizens Financial Group in Providence, Rhode Island, recently became the first U.S. issuer to offer Mastercard's Touch Card, which uses notches to signify which account type the card belongs to. Citizens rolled out the Touch Card to its wealth management clients in May but plans to expand it across more products in the coming months.

A dedicated contact center for Video Relay Service calls

TD Bank Group realized that deaf and hard-of-hearing customers could not connect to its Canadian contact centers as seamlessly as they should be able to.

The problem lay with using Video Relay Service, a form of telecommunications where people who use sign language can connect with a "communications assistant," or qualified interpreter, on video. The CA will then place a call to the original user's desired contact and intermediate the conversation.

"The struggle our customers in Canada were finding, which was similar to years earlier in the U.S., is that not as many people within large organizations, including TD, knew about VRS," said Jennifer Popkey, diversity and inclusion talent sourcing partner at TD, with a focus on people with disabilities. "When we would have a representative answer a call they weren't sure if that was a customer or a fraudulent call."

In March, during its annual Tech Day, the Canadian arm of TD unveiled a dedicated toll-free phone line for customers who use sign language and wish to call the bank using VRS. The interpreters can use ASL or Langue des signes Québécoise (LSQ). The dedicated contact center is trained to accept VRS calls and its staff span different areas of expertise in TD products and services.

TD is weighing whether a similar innovation will be valuable to U.S. customers, but Popkey points out the need is not as stark, because VRS has been around for longer and there is more familiarity.

The bank is also exploring how to bring a service it introduced in its U.S. footprint to Canada. In 2021, TD rolled out free access to Aira, a visual interpreting service and app for blind and low-vision individuals, in all of its U.S. branches, ATMs, at TD-sponsored events and when banking online. Users can open the Aira app and browse "offers" to apply for one from TD, or turn on their phone's GPS to be notified when they are near a TD property. Popkey has observed a good portion of users turning to Aira at ATMs, where employees may not be around to assist them.

"It's a pay-per-minute plan, so people will pick and choose where they get that Aira support," said Popkey. "We also know the un- and underemployment rates for people with disabilities is higher than for the rest of wider society, so to add an additional cost could be prohibitive."

Optimizing accessibility in a portable branch

The portable branch that Regions Financial deploys to disaster zones and special events is a scaled-down version of its brick-and-mortar spaces, down to the furniture and design banking capabilities. When it ordered a new truck in 2019, the bank also rethought its accessibility. The old truck had a wheelchair lift, but it was unreliable, said Terri Bell, the branch delivery market manager at the Birmingham, Alabama, bank.

Regions' portable branch was built by MBF Industries, which engineers technical vehicles. MBF will add wheelchair lifts upon request and for an additional cost, typically to trucks longer than 30 feet. Regions' vehicle measures 40 feet.

But there is more to making the vehicle accessible than simply adding this feature.

"We have an ATM so those two components had to be on opposite ends and fit within the design and the flow of how we wanted customer interactions to occur within the truck," said Bell. "We had to make sure it met the requirements for ADA clearance and [the component] wasn't somehow opening into another customer's lap as they transacted business."

The wheelchair lift unfolds and lowers to ground level to transport the wheelchair user — or even parents with young children — inside the truck. They enter right in front of a desk that meets ADA height and clearance requirements, whereas in the previous vehicle, "it was not even close," said Bell.

Regions Financial's portable branch with the wheelchair lift extended.

Bell recalls one customer using a motorized scooter who came to the branch when it was parked in North Port, Florida, following Hurricane Ian in the fall of 2022.

"She thought we would meet her on the pavement, but we were able to open the lift and bring her into the truck with great air conditioning in southeast Florida," said Bell. "She was astounded we were able to service her needs in that way."

Teaching autistic customers the basics of banking

M&T Bank in Buffalo, New York, was the first U.S. financial institution to partner with Magnusmode, a company that creates tools for people with neurodiverse abilities, and its flagship MagnusCards app. The app contains digital guides in the form of virtual "card decks" that walk users through various tasks using photos, text and audio to break down the instructions into simple steps.

Right now the app has five decks specific to M&T that users can swipe through to learn how to deposit cash or checks into an ATM, use a debit card and more. M&T chose the topics in consultation with its Disabilities Advocacy Network Resource Group and released these guides in 2021.

Now M&T is developing its next phase.

"We started quite simple," said Stephanie Karnas, senior vice president of consumer segments at M&T. "We're moving into a place where we want to demonstrate a few more activities."

New topics they are considering include understanding how much money one has; ensuring one is safely using their money, whether it's an online purchase or by card; and being able to connect with an employee of the bank, perhaps by setting an appointment.

The bank is still figuring out how to communicate these more complex transactions or conversations in the app, but "we are making sure [users] can do more than just the basics," said Karnas. M&T is also sponsoring the development of a new feature in Magnuscards, where caregivers can add notes to existing card decks.

Huntington Bancshares is the second U.S. financial institution to co-create guides with Magnusmode. These card decks are specific to each bank (as well as to companies in other industries that appear in the app), because "people who are autistic have difficulty generalizing information," said Nadia Hamilton, the founder and president of Magnusmode. For instance, the deck illustrating how to deposit cash and checks into an M&T ATM uses photos of those branded ATMs, with arrows and circles pointing out specific buttons.

"This has certainly opened up the aperture and our perspective on how we can better serve our customers," said Karnas.

Meanwhile, another Regions' innovation is its curriculum for autistic adults. Money Basics for Life covers two modules, one about managing money and the other relating to credit and identity theft. The bank had intended to make the educational programming available in person, but the pandemic forced the programming online.

Now Regions offers both options, in partnership with community groups across its 16-state footprint, such as nonprofit United Ability in Birmingham. The pivot to online was a blessing in disguise.

"We have found the virtual option works extremely well," said Kathy Lovell, disability services and outreach manager.

With virtual delivery, non-verbal attendees can use the chat feature to participate. The bank can host multiple sessions in a day or week without arranging travel. It adapts the programming where necessary; for example, one activity prompts conversation about whether certain items are wants or needs. In person, participants will move from one side of the room to another to denote whether something is a want or need. Online, they raise their hands.

"We are not trying to sell Regions or open accounts," said Lovell. "We are strictly providing them with the basic knowledge of how a bank works and how online banking would work."