Talking ATM

National Australia Bank and Westpac have deployed talking ATMs.[4]

By 2002 Royal Bank had 15 talking ATMs in operation and announced that an additional 250 units would be installed.[5][6]

Relevant legislation and standards

• Canadian Human Rights Act
• Canadian Standards Association: CAN/CSA-B651.2-07 (R2012) – Accessible Design for Self-Service Interactive Devices.[7]

Metrobank uses talking ATMs.

Yapı ve Kredi Bankası implemented the first Talking ATMs in Turkey in December 2010. The Talking ATM function is specifically designed for visually impaired or partially sighted customers of Yapi Kredi or other banks. Utilising the text-to-speech technology, customers can perform cash withdrawal or balance inquiry transactions via Talking ATMs. The audible transaction starts when a headphone plug is connected to the Talking ATM's headphone jack, and is terminated for security when the jack is disconnected. Optionally, the customer may select to mask the account information on the ATM screen.

Barclays is the only major high street bank in the UK to have deployed Talking ATMs at scale. Over 80% of their 4,100 ATMs now offer the functionality. This includes the 800 ATMs at ASDA superstores which are operated by Barclays. In addition, Northern Bank in the UK have deployed 85 talking cash machines out of their estate of over 200 which amounts to 40 per cent of their estate. Most recent machines installed by banks include a standard audio jack for blind persons to interact with the machine, but these facilities have not yet been enabled.[8][9][10][11]

In 2011 the UK's leading charity for blind and partially sighted people, RNIB, launched a campaign to get major banks to install talking cash machines.[12] They had also been working with LOCOG from 2009 to ensure that talking cashpoints would be provided in the Olympic Park for the London 2012 Olympics and Paralympics. However, a few weeks before the Games, sponsor and sole provider Visa announced that they would only be able to install the necessary software in time on two machines.[13]

In April 2013 RBS publicly announced as part of their 2012 Sustainability report that they would be installing Talking ATMs from 2014 onwards, as part of a wider ATM upgrade.[14]

The first public actions in the United States to achieve ATM access for the blind occurred in June 1999. On June 3, Mellon Bank and PNC Bank were sued in federal courts in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh respectively.[15] On June 25, 1999, Wells Fargo became the first major bank in the United States to commit to installing talking ATMs. In a legal settlement with blind community leaders, the bank agreed to install a talking ATM at all of its 1,500 ATM locations in California. The company has subsequently installed talking ATMs at all ATM locations in all states.[16] In July 1999, Citibank agreed to pilot five talking ATMs in and around San Francisco and Los Angeles. The Citibank machine represented a unique engineering and research challenge as it uses a touch screen interface and has no function keys to offer access to the blind. All Citibank locations with this kind of machine have been adapted with talking functionality.[17]

The first talking ATM in the United States was a Diebold machine installed on October 1, 1999, in San Francisco's City Hall by the San Francisco Federal Credit Union. Like the Royal Bank machine, it was adapted by T-Base Communications.[18] In March 2000, Bank of America became the first financial institution to commit to installing a talking ATM at all of its ATM locations nationwide. A legal settlement called for the installation of hundreds of machines with later negotiations for a schedule for the remainder.

By 2005 there were approximately 30,000 Talking ATMs in the United States. By 2012, the number had passed 100,000.[12]

Relevant legislation and standards

• Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990

In 2012, one of the leading Public Sector Bank Union Bank of India unveiled India's first ever Truly Accessible and Talking ATM[19] in Vastrapur, Ahmedabad, Gujarat on 6 June 2012 for visually and physically disabled people. Union Bank of India has done pioneer work on Talking ATM in India. Union Bank's Talking ATM model and workflow has set a benchmark. The bank has also developed Talking ATM usage accessible manuals in DAISY and electronic Braille formats. List of talking ATMs locations and accessible instructions manuals can be easily downloaded from bank's website.[20]

On October 4, 2012 State Bank of India, India's largest Public Sector Bank, launched its first and Real Talking ATM in New Delhi.[21] State Bank of India has done large scale deployment of Talking ATM across India. State Bank inaugurated its 5555th Talking ATM on 1 July 2014.[22]

Few more banks namely Bank of Baroda, Corporation Bank, Citibank, HSBC[23] and more public sector banks, private banks, cooperative banks in India have either deployed or taken good initiatives on Talking ATMs for the blind.

A repository of Talking ATM addresses of banks in India is made available by 'Talking ATM India Locator' website which is a voluntary and non-commercial service.[24]