The following is from Atmmarketplace.com, an industry publication.  It is
the latest report from industry on how it is addressing the ATM access
issue for the blind.

It should be noted that the NFB and Diebold have placed four talking ATM
machines in Rite Aid drugstores in Washington, DC. However, these
machines do not have volume control, help functions, or items mapped to
the numeric keypad, as described in the article.  In fact,the end user
cannot access the machines as implemented by Diebold and the NFB.  The
orientation on these machines instructs users to swipe their card from
the top going down.  On a visit to Washington a few weeks ago I did this
at the rite Aid store at 15th and K Streets in Northwest Washington.  I
got an error message.  I then did it very slowly and got another error
message.  I did it fast with yet another error message.  I then decided
to try all four sides of the card, getting four error messages in the
process.  I then tried the original instructions and decided to swipe the
card from the bottom going up.  Presto, it worked!  I felt a little
confused at pin entry and realized that the machine offered absolutely no
information about the placement of number keys on the 16 key keypad.
There wasn't even any Braille on the numbers.  All of the machine
functionality was mapped to the buttons on either side of the video
screen rather than the keypad, as Bank of America, Fleet Boston, Bank
One, and Wells Fargo do.  The inaccurate or inadequate instructions and
information for use still presents a machine with access barriers.  It
seemed obvious to me that no blind person had used the machine before it
was deployed so feedback could be offered.  The problems I experienced
would be obvious and quickly encountered by any blind end user.  They can
be easily corrected by re-recording the sound files on the machine that
offer the instructions.  I guess the lesson learned from all of this is
that just because a blindness or disability organization is involved in
an access solution doesn't mean it is effective or will be of high
quality.

Kelly

Getting along on ADA? ATMmarketplace.com

ATMmarketplace.com

News

Getting along on ADA?

by
Ann All
* June 28, 2001

ARLINGTON, Va. -- When Microsoft and other heavy hitters in the computer
industry made PCs talk, members of the visually impaired community began
to wonder
why text-to-speech technology couldn't be introduced on other PC-based
equipment - like ATMs.

"The idea that you could make a piece of technology talk was something we
started to take for granted," said Curtis Chong, director of technology
for the
National Federation of the Blind,
addressing about 50 ATM industry representatives in attendance at
yesterday's "New ADA Challenges to the ATM Industry," an all-day meeting
sponsored by
the
Electronic Funds Transfer Association.

Requiring voice-guided technology at ATMs is one of the ideas being
considered by the federal Access Board, which introduced a set of
proposed changes to
the Americans with Disabilities Act/Architectural Barriers Act on Nov.
16.

After several months of seeking public comment, the board hopes to
introduce a set of proposed guidelines this summer. The Department of
Justice may choose
to adopt the Access Board's recommendations, but will gather additional
public comment first - a process that could take up to a year, said Nessa
Feddis,
senior federal counsel for the
American Bankers Association.

Chong described a "growing level of frustration" among the visually
impaired about the lack of accessibility at ATMs. Manufacturers began
adding Braille
to ATM keypads after the Americans with Disabilities Act passed in 1992,
but Chong said it didn't adequately address the needs of blind users.
"While you
had Braille on the keys, you couldn't read the screen instructions. So if
it was flashing that you had made an error, you had no way of knowing
 it," he
said.

He said that blind ATM users like himself, who navigated their way
through transactions by memorizing them, became more frustrated when
banks began deploying
higher-tech machines equipped with features such as touchscreens that
were more, rather than less, difficult for the visually impaired to use.

The NFB filed a lawsuit against
Diebold
in May of 2000, in which it contended that Diebold was not in compliance
with the ADA because it installed ATMs that were inaccessible to the
blind in Rite
Aid stores. The NFB dropped the suit six months later and is now working
with Diebold on developing voice-guided technology for its machines.

Alan Looney, Diebold's director of product planning and management, said
the manufacturer plans to begin shipping CashSource Plus 200 cash
dispensers with
audio technology next month. The first such machine went online earlier
this month at NFB headquarters in Baltimore. The CSP 200 was the model
that had
been installed at the Rite Aid locations.

Among the audio features on the new CSP 200, Looney said, are volume
control and "repeat" and "help" functions. The machine has voice support
for cash withdrawals,
transfers and balance inquiries, as well as surcharge screens. All audio
functions are mapped to the numeric keypad.

Volume control and "repeat" and "help" options are among the items on the
wish list of most blind ATM users, Chong said, along with the ability to
halt
audio instructions so that users familiar with the process wouldn't have
to listen to lengthy verbiage before completing their transactions.

"You can already do this on PCs," he said. "You want it to react like a
sports car, not like a Mack truck."

In the past year or so, Chong said he has been encouraged by such signs
of progress such as the partnership with Diebold and a series of meetings
between
representatives of the ATM industry and advocacy groups like the NFB.

"I believe that non-visual access to ATMs will happen," he said. "I'm
optimistic that I'll be able to walk up to most ATMs in the country and
plug in my
headphones to use them."

Several large financial institutions, including
Bank of America,
Wells Fargo
and
Fleet Bank,
have begun introducing ATMs equipped with voice-guided technology.
Nandita Bakhshi, Fleet's senior vice president of self-service/ATM
banking was on hand
to demonstrate one of the bank's voice-equipped machines, a Diebold
1062ix.

Bakhshi admitted that Fleet first became involved because it was
concerned about lawsuits or other possible actions by the visually
impaired community.
However, she said, the bank's motivation changed after working with the
Boston-based Disability Law Center and Perkins School for the Blind in
Watertown,
Mass.

"It started out as something that we felt that we needed to do because it
would become mandatory, but as we got involved with the community, it
became different.
We started to ask ourselves why we hadn't looked at doing something
before," she said.

The bank has introduced 60 talking machines so far and plans to increase
the number to 100 by year end. The eventual goal is to roll out 1,420
talking ATMs
by 2003. Currently, voice technology is available for cash withdrawals,
balance inquiries, cash transfers and deposits. Bakhshi said Fleet hopes
to add
more advanced transactions, including stamp purchases and PIN changes, by
2002.

Feddis said that while some "intrepid souls" like Fleet are introducing
voice-guided technology before changes are mandated by the federal
government, other
ATM owners are taking a "wait and see" attitude. Some are concerned that
if current efforts don't meet the standards that are eventually adopted,
they
will have to make expensive revisions later.

She believes a proactive stance is better, however. "I think you're less
likely to become a target if you're doing something," Feddis said.

Copyright 2001 NetWorld Alliance LLC. All rights reserved.


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