The significant progress in accessibility Fleet Boston Financial has made
shows the excellent work a state protection and advocacy agency can do.
The Disability Law Center of Massachusetts worked with local disability
leaders and regional and national experts in creating a solid partnership
with the bank that has enabled the bank to become a model in the
industry.  By the end of 2006, all Fleet ATM locations will be accessible
with a talking ATM.

Kelly


Atlanticville

Long Branch, NJ

    Front Page

    January 2, 2004

    Talking ATMs help Fleet reach out

Bank initiatives to empower disabled to use its services

BY GLORIA STRAVELLI
Staff Writer


Photo caption:
Janet Calhoun, senior vice president and district manager of the Red
Bank Fleet banks, is holding a standard audio headset that has been
plugged into an earphone jack in the automatic teller machine.




    ATMs and online banking services make it easier for most of us to
conduct banking transactions, but for individuals with disabilities
these services aren't always fully accessible.

    To accommodate customers with visual and hearing impairments - a
growing sector of the senior population -- Fleet bank this year beefed
up an initiative begun two years ago to make banking services more
accessible, particularly online banking, the fastest growing sector of
Fleet's business.

    "There are approximately 54 million Americans with disabilities with
an estimated income of more than $188 billion," explained Fleet
spokesman Steven Lubetkin. "Web sites that shut out people with
disabilities are tuning out a huge part of the consumer market, the
people who could benefit from online services the most."

    A group of Fleet's own employees provides the bank with a window on
the banking needs of people with disabilities.

    Fleet's internal Diversity Resource Group is made up of disabled
employees and interested colleagues. Besides networking and advocating
for internal policies to attract and retain disabled employees, this
group advocates for Fleet's active courting of disabled customers
through intelligent and comprehensive accessibility.

    By year-end, the Boston-based bank had more than 1,400 Voice
Guidance, or "Talking," ATMs available to customers throughout eight
Northeast states at sites including Riverview Medical Center in Red Bank
and Fleet branches in Shrewsbury, Sea Bright and Ocean.

    Fleet's Talking ATMs allow the blind and visually impaired to make
withdrawals and deposits, make transfers/payments to linked accounts, or
obtain balance information using standard earphones plugged into a
private audio jack at the ATM.

    This year, Fleet introduced several enhancements to the Voice
Guidance ATMs. The new features, using the same audio system, allow
customers to set or change their PIN, set or change their pre-set
withdrawal amount, purchase stamps, submit payment envelopes and print
mini-statements.

    Fleet has a total of 255 talking ATMs in New Jersey, 20 located in
Monmouth County.

    Customers can locate a Fleet Talking ATM by calling the bank's
customer service center or by logging on to www.fleet.com and using the
ATM locator.

    Branches with Talking ATMs stock earphones for customers who do not
have their own, and free earphones are available by calling the Fleet
Customer Service Center or via the Web site.

    For ATMs that have not yet been converted to voice guidance,
instructional guides are available in Braille and audiocassette.

    According to a bank spokesman, more than 1 million Americans are
legally blind and another 12 million experience some form of
irreversible visual impairment. As many as 75,000 Americans become blind
each year, and the visually impaired population increases by 120,000.
The fastest growing segment of this population is the elderly, who are
at the greatest risk of developing degenerative eye disease.

    In addition to Talking ATMs, the bank offers customers with
disabilities alternative format documents which make bank statements,
account agreements and fee schedules available in Braille, large print,
computer diskette and audiocassette through a branch, telephone banking
or online e-mail. Guideline or raised-line checks are also available at
the same cost as standard checks.

    On request, Fleet will waive the monthly bill payment fee for
visually impaired and other disabled customers.

    Fleet has enhanced accessibility online by designing an
accessibility button into its home page and all pages in the main
consumer banking and investing Web site. The button links the user to
both a description of services available (Braille, large print, Talking
ATMs) and tips for using Screen Reader Software with Fleet HomeLink.

    To ensure the accessibility of its Web site, Fleet puts all new Web
designs and online applications through a number of tests, using both
screen reader and keyboard-only commands (motor impairment), checking
for issues such as logical order of links, tags for graphics, unique
link text, presence of page titles, and that all fields in forms are
identified with labels.

    Web designers also check to ensure that font sizes are adjustable by
the user, and that there is good visual contrast. As a final check, new
applications are tested by experienced screen reader users.

    Fleet's Telephone Banking is fully accessible to the hearing
impaired through intermediary TTY (teletypewriter) operators or the TDD
(Telecommunication Device for the Deaf) line. The Telephone Banking
welcome features a "Helpful Hints for Our Visually Impaired Customers"
option.

    Auxiliary aids available at branches include clipboards, markers and
magnifying glasses to assist visually impaired customers in conducting
their transactions.

    FleetBoston Financial Corp. is the seventh-largest financial holding
company in the nation with assets of $196 billion and more than 18
million individual, corporate and institutional customers. The bank
operates 1,460 branches and more than 3,400 ATMs from Maine to
Pennsylvania.

    In October, Fleet and Bank of America Corp., Charlotte, N.C.,
announced directors of both institutions had approved an agreement to
merge next year.

    Fleet has established leading market shares in New England and the
Northeast, while Bank of America has similar positions in the South,
West and Midwest.

    The new Bank of America will have 9.8 percent of the banking
deposits in the United States and a network of almost 5,700 retail
banking offices and more than 16,500 ATMs.

    In addition to being America's largest consumer bank, the new Bank
of America will be the No. 1 lender to small businesses in the United
States, according to the merger announcement.

    In wealth management, Bank of America will operate the largest
private bank in the United States and the third largest bank-owned
brokerage. With $470 billion in assets under management, the wealth
management business will be the ninth largest in the country.


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