This article was published in both the Los Angeles times and the San Jose
mercury news, which placed it on page one. the LA Times placed it
prominently as well. San Jose is California's second largest city and is
the center of the tech savvy silicon valley.
kelly
Published Thursday, June 24, 1999, in the San Jose Mercury News
Bank to offer talking ATMs
Wells Fargo accord will help the blind
BY MAURA DOLAN
Los Angeles Times
SAN FRANCISCO -- Wells Fargo & Co. has agreed to provide talking ATMs
in California following more than three years of negotiations with
lawyers for the blind -- the first time a U.S. bank has agreed to take
such a step.
Wells Fargo, the second-largest bank in California, is among those
that already provide Braille on ATMs. But only about 15 percent of the
blind can read Braille, and those who do say it still does not allow
them to interact with the machines.
Coming just a day after the U.S. Supreme Court narrowed a federal
disabilities rights law, the settlement is a reminder of the
continuing power of both the federal law and state statutes to protect
the disabled.
Under the out-of-court settlement unveiled Wednesday with the
California Council of the Blind, Wells Fargo will install 20 talking
ATMs with earphones next year in Los Angeles and San Diego counties
and the Bay Area. The locations for the first wave of machines has not
yet been determined, a spokeswoman said.
The settlement calls for talking machines at all of Wells Fargo's
1,500 California locations by the year 2003. Lawyers for the blind
believe other banks will follow.
``This should really be the beginning of a wave,'' said Oakland lawyer
Linda Dardarian, who represented four blind Wells Fargo customers and
the California Council.
Bank of America spokeswoman Ann DeFabio said it, too, will begin a
pilot program of talking ATMs next year. The bank has not yet decided
where to test the machines or how many to test, she said.
Wells Fargo's talking machines, which are still in development, will
give voice instruction through headphones on how to deposit money,
withdraw cash, transfer funds and buy stamps. There will be one
talking machine at all ATM sites, and customers will be able to choose
whether to read or listen.
First such U.S. plan
Dardarian and a Wells Fargo spokesman said the settlement is the first
such U.S. plan to be announced. A lawsuit to force a bank in
Pennsylvania to install voice-equipped automatic teller machines is
pending in federal court. Royal Bank of Canada has deployed such a
machine.
Larry Haeg, a Wells Fargo spokesman, refused for ``competitive
reasons'' to disclose the cost of providing talking ATMs. If the
machines succeed in California, the company will offer them to other
regions around the nation, he said.
Kathy Martinez, 40, one of the blind plaintiffs in the case, said she
has long been frustrated by being unable to use ATMs by herself. Blind
since birth, Martinez reads Braille but says that only allows her to
obtain a small amount of ``quick cash.''
At times she has even resorted to asking strangers to help her at the
cash machines, she said.
``It is scary,'' she said. ``I do it as little as possible, but if I
don't have a stranger do it, I have to have my friends do it. There is
a lack of privacy.''
She and other blind plaintiffs, including the California Council of
the Blind, decided to target Wells Fargo because they bank with the
financial services company.
Pondering next move
Catherine Skivers, president of the advocacy group, said it has not
yet decided whether to pursue similar talks with other banks.
Although the talks could have ended in a lawsuit, Haeg said the
company quickly realized that talking ATMs represented a ``business
opportunity.''
``If there is an opportunity to earn more business and develop
stronger relations with a certain segment of your customer base, why
wouldn't you want to do it?'' he said.
Dardarian said her law office was pleased to reach a settlement
without going to court. The talking machines will be rolled out
starting next June with locations of high customer use receiving them
first, she said. ``There is no excuse for not doing it. There is not a
technological barrier and there is no undue burden that the banks can
show,'' she said.
Negotiations with Wells Fargo took years to complete in part because
the different parties had to evaluate various kinds of technology,
Dardarian said. The technology that was eventually accepted includes
earphones and a voice welcoming the customer to Wells Fargo.
Giving instructions
The voice explains the layout of the keypad and gives instructions in
how the user can make different transactions. When one is selected,
the machine audibly confirms it, she said. The technology is not able
to inform the user verbally of his or her balance, nor can the user
communicate with the machine by voice.
The settlement also obligates Wells Fargo to make other banking
information accessible to the visually impaired. Account statements,
product brochures, notices, loan applications and legal disclosures
will be made available by audio, Braille, large print, a computer disc
or online, Dardarian said.
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