Publications Archive

Financial Transactions by Visually Disabled Persons

Summary: Workshop of Concerted Action on Technology and Blindness: Financial Transactions

Editors J M Gill, G Butcher

© RNIB February 1990

Introduction

The aim of the workshop was to identify the problems of banking technology faced by visually disabled persons at present and in the foreseeable future. Views were sought from bankers, those involved in banking technology, specialists in visual disability and consumers. It was hoped specific recommendations on research needed to overcome these problems would result from the discussions.

The workshop took place in Agia Pelagia, Crete from 9th to 11th October 1989 under the auspices of the EEC Concerted Action on Technology and Blindness. It was chaired by Dr John Gill and Dr Constantine Stephanidis. Participants were asked to prepare for discussions on banking services, money matters (currency, cheques etc), home banking, transactions using cards and future technology such as "smart cards". The papers presented here are based on those preparations. The recommendations are a result of the workshop discussions.

Concerted Research Programme on "Technology and Blindness"

Pier Luigi Emiliani, Project Leader

1. Introduction

The Concerted Actions are one of the forms of implementation of the Biomedical and Health programmes of the European Communities, executed under the supervision of the Directorate General XII (Science, Research and Development), whose general goal is to contribute to a better quality of life by improving health and to strengthen European collaboration in order to achieve this goal.

Funds are provided by the Community for activities which consist of research collaboration and coordination. These activities can be supported by means of meetings, workshops, and short-term staff exchanges to other countries, information dissemination and so on. This means that no research grants are given and the Institutes involved must themselves fund the research activities carried out within their countries.

The Commission of the European Communities is assisted in the execution of this Programme by a Management and Coordination Advisory Committee (CGC - Medical and Health Research) and by Concerted Action Committees (COMACs) and Working Parties, composed of representatives and of scientific experts, designated by the competent authorities of the member states.

The COMAC BME (Biomedical Engineering) is supported in the field of rehabilitation, and in particular in the applications of technology (signal processing and information technology) for the rehabilitation of the blind (Concerted Action on “Technology and Blindness").

The purpose of Concerted Action, whose Project Management Group is comprised of John Gill (United Kingdom), Paolo Graziani (Italy), Mathijs Soede (The Netherlands), John Sorensen (Denmark), Janet Silver (United Kingdom), Monique Truquet (France) and Rainer Witte (Germany), is mainly the investigation of the impact of:

  • information technology;
  • signal processing;
  • communications;

in the rehabilitation of the totally blind, considering not only the technical problems but also the psychological and educational implications and the impact on social integration.

2. Main lines of activity

Technology has a strong impact on many aspects of rehabilitation of the blind. It can be used as:

  • a support to the preparation of materials for the blind: as examples, the production of braille, graphics, material for music can be considered;
  • a support to personal access to information and services: in this class all the aids and methodologies to support the access to written information, coded information, computer terminals, communication terminals and services as, for example, home shopping and videotext can be included;
  • a support to mobility in the environment (aids for finding obstacles and for orientation and navigation);
  • a support for the adaptation of the environment, considering in this class: modification of the environment to improve integration (that is the elimination of architectural and/or information barriers), adaptation of open spaces (e.g. street lights, bus stops) and public premises (e.g. post offices, train stations, bus stations, airports) with multimedia presentations of information and a careful organization of general services and means for human interactions (e.g. for financial transactions).

A common denominator in most of the actions meant to reduce the disadvantages of blind persons in their access to information (school, home, work, social environment) is that materials and services have to be prepared in such away that they are inherently multimedia. Otherwise suitable transductions of information for a format which is commonly used for other users and a format which is adapted to the needs of blind persons (normally auditory or/and tactile) has to be provided.

Therefore activity in this sector has to be organized according to the following main lines:

  • analysis of the social and/or physical environment, to point out present situations and/or possible developments, which are challenging the possibility of the integration of the blind;
  • discussion of the organization and development of social activities, so that they can occur in such a way to avoid additional segregation of the blind;
  • development of solutions, which are able to overcome the disadvantages experienced by the blind in their integration.

Considering in this relation mainly the third line of activity, where the impact of computers is direct and evident, the main functions to be guaranteed for accessing information are:

  • acquisition of information;
  • transduction of information;
  • presentation of information in an alternative format;
  • control of the operation.

These functions can be guaranteed by a system based on a computer, which controls the acquisition and presentation of information, also using specialized peripherals (scanners, voice recognizer and synthesizer, braille printers, transitory braille lines, embossers and so on).

The increased complexity, in comparison with a conventional computer system, shows explicitly that in the case of a user with special needs (in this case a blind person) two main functions are to be accomplished. The first one is the general function of acquisition of information and its use for the chosen application, the second is a complex interface through which the disabled can control the form of acquisition and presentation of information. These functions are obviously present in all computer systems, but in our scheme the man-machine interface is emphasised, due to its complexity and to its crucial effect on the possibility of access to information (in some cases the man-machine interface can be predominant in terms of hardware and software resources in comparison with the application).

The relative importance of the two different parts and the way the man-machine interface is implemented (software on the system to access, intelligent peripheral, host computer system) depends on the application, but from a conceptual point of view the two functions can be easily treated separately.

Some examples may clarify the above remarks. The preparation of braille has been so far organized in central production factories, with text input into a computer by sighted typists (on normal or braille keyboards) or via scanners. The text is then translated into braille (when necessary), formatted and printed using a braille embosser. Recently, the production of braille tends to be decentralized, with the use of personal computers, simple scanners and inexpensive braille printers. Typing of texts, when scanners are not available, is often made by blind operators. A man-machine interface is necessary and the computer has to control the peripherals for the transduction of information connected to the application (scanners and braille printers) and for the man-machine interface (e.g. speech synthesizers or transitory braille lines).

When a blind person has to access information (written through a scanner, coded when already present in a machine-readable code, received through a communication channel), his system is typically a personal computer with interfaces and peripherals adapted to the available information formats. Peripherals and interfaces (hardware and software) will also be available for the interaction, that is to allow the control of the acquisition and presentation not only in a format suitable for the user (e.g. synthetic speech and/or transitory braille) but also according to his liking.

Telecommunication terminals, present in many services (as home banking, home shopping, access to videotext and similar services, access to remote data bases), are themselves computer systems, which need special interfaces and/or peripherals to be interfaced with the blind users.

3. Activity on the Concerted Action

The Concerted Action on “Technology and Blindness” has been given the task of singling out problems in this sector, of discussing the available and foreseen interfaces in the different applications, of stimulating research and development, where solutions are not already available or are too complex, of anticipating problems, which could arise in the future due to developments in technoIogy.

Obviously it is not possible to describe the details of the activity. It will be only outlined by giving a list of workshops and meetings held, so that interested persons can have references for further information.

3.1 State of the art

Two workshops were organized in 1986 and three expert meetings in 1987 to get general information about the situation in Europe in the field of the applications of technology in the preparation of materials for the blind and in promoting the access to information, pointing out problems, where a concerted effort is necessary.

Workshop "Production of Hardcopy Material for the Blind", Toulouse, France, October 14-16, 1986 Organizer: M. Truquet.

Topics discussed: methods of reading (including written text and graphics) and of writing, with the main emphasis on the production of embossed materials (paper braille, paperless braille, alternatives, graphics).

Workshop "Communication Systems for the Blind", Florence, Italy, November 18-20, Organizer: P.L. Emiliani.

Topics discussed: impact of efficient signal processing techniques; advances in information technology; communication networks to access computer systems and coded information sources (acquisition and presentation of information, hardware and software).

Meeting "Specifications of the Man-Machine Interface in Computerized Workstations for the Blind" , Hoensbroek, The Netherlands, June 11-12 Chairmen: M. Soede, P.L. Emiliani.

Topics discussed: interaction methodologies (synthetic speech - availability and quality of speech synthesizers, quality versus efficiency; transitory braille - cost, reliability, page display; graphics - transitory display, basic research); technology for their implementation; support needed for their use; possible integration in a multimodal interface.

Meeting "Network Terminals for Use of Visually Impaired Persons", Datchet, United Kingdom, June 24-26, Chairmen: J.I. Lindström, J. Gill.

Topics discussed: identification of developments needed to improve access to networks by the visually disabled, considering mainly three types of terminals: for public access (e.g. automatic ticket machines, those specifically adapted for sharing between visually impaired and sighted people (e.g. adapted telex machines, text-TV), and those dedicated for personal use (e.g. softcopy braille terminals).

Meeting "Braille Production and Distribution", Marburg, Germany, July 6-7, Chairman: R.F.V. Witte. Topics discussed: new situation in the production and distribution of braille based on low-quantity decentralized facilities; copyright; standards (starting from the paper size and dot/cell size); input systems (OCR); interaction software; formatting of braille books, especially school and reference books; formatting principles for paperless braille devices; reproduction of braille; exploitation of networks and services for distribution of braille.

3.2 Activity in 1988

In 1988 the activity was devoted to the problems of preparation of materials for the blind:

Workshops "Hardcopy Materials for Music", Toulouse, France, Sept. 26-27, Organizer: Monique Truquet.

Topics discussed: computerized production of music scores from print to braille; computer-aided techniques for the production of ink-print music scores by blind musicians; use of computer software packages to help blind people in composing music; optical character recognition of ink-print music scores for the automatic production of braille music.

Workshop "New Audio Technology", London (Copthorne), United Kingdom, Oct. 27-28, Organizer: J. Gill, G. Butcher.

Topics discussed: standardised speech synthesis; quality and intelligibility versus efficiency; digital recording of archives and talking books; alterations in the production of synthetic speech.

And on the man-machine interface:

Workshop "Transitory Displays", Marburg, Germany, Oct. 20-21, Organizer: R.F.V. Witte. Topics discussed: user needs; multi-line displays; physical and ergonomic characteristics of displays; interfaces with computers.

Workshop "Man Machine Interfaces, Graphics and Practical Applications", Hoensbroek, The Netherlands, Nov. 14-15, Organizer M. Soede.

Topics discussed: hardware (peripherals) and software (interaction interfaces) aspects of man-machine interfaces; educational, psychological and production aspects of graphics (hardcopy and softcopy); impact in application environments (education, work, home)

At the end of 1988 a general workshop was held in Florence to summarize the work done so far to inform experts in Europe about the contents of the activity and collect new ideas:

Workshop "Techniques and Devices for the Blind", Florence, Italy, Nov. 28-30, Organizer: P.L. Emiliani.

3.3 Activity in 1989

Activity in 1989 has been planned to discuss:

Terminals used by visually disabled people, as a follow up to the workshop held in 1987;

Graphics interfaces (windows, icons), considering the new possibilities offered and problems caused by the new graphics displays from the point of view of the blind;

  • Financial transactions, dealing with the importance and impact of ways financial transactions are organized in the social integration of the visually impaired;
  • Interactive graphic displays, focusing on technical feasibility and practical relevance of interactive graphics displays;
  • Intelligent environment for the blind, considering the relevance in this context if the approaches leading to the development of an intelligent home.

Other small meetings will be organized, to discuss in depth ongoing concerted research activities.

4. Cooperation

The Concerted Action was able to establish good cooperation with the following European Projects:

  • COST 219 "Future Telecommunications and Teleinformatics Facilities for Handicapped People" (Prof. J. Ekberg);
  • Other ongoing Concerted Actions (COMAC-BME)

- Concerted Action on "Assistive Devices for Paralyzed Persons" (Prof. A. Pedotti)

- Concerted Action on "Advanced Technologies for Communication with the Deaf' (Dr. G.R. Bock)

  • Division for Action in Favour of Disabled Persons (Mr. B. Wehrens)

- Handynet

In Handynet, a project meant to setup a European multilingual data-base on all aspects of disability, a proposal for the classification and description of technical aids for the visually disabled was prepared.

5. Conclusions

An attempt has been made, to describe the possibilities of European cooperation offered by Concerted Actions, which give the support for fruitful discussions about research in the different nations and for coordination of national projects at a European level.

A brief outline has also been given of the Concerted Action on “Technology and Blindness", trying to show the importance of computers in the rehabilitation of the blind.

Proceedings of the above listed workshops and meetings are available or will be printed in the near future.

Visual Disability

Janet Silver, Moorfields Eye Hospital, England

Most people have very clear ideas of what "blind" is:- they simply shut their eyes. The common image of blindness is of a relatively young person using a white stick, competent in sight-replacement techniques such as braille, and with very well developed compensatory senses such as hearing. This is far from reality, only about 10% of all people recognised as visually handicapped in Europe have no vision at all or bare light perception. The remainder are using some visual information, and the vast majority have enough vision to read ink-print if it is large enough and clear enough and accessible enough - or magnified.

Visual disability is often regarded as one of the penalties of age; this is confirmed by the prevalence rates, which show that 75% of the recognised visually disabled are over the age of retirement.

Working in a low-vision clinic, it is our standard approach to start the assessment with a discussion and definition of the visual tasks that the patient finds difficult. Very frequently mentioned are price tickets, but also cash-registers in supermarkets. Transient displays present enormous problems.

People are worried about the possibility of errors on financial transactions when they cannot read the amount of something. They have to trust other people and the risk of error or fraud is also a possibility. People are actually embarrassed to ask for help and also asking for help not only means putting themselves in a dependent position, it means in financial transactions, a loss of privacy. These are the sort of problems that we hear when we are talking to patients.

It is important that we define some terms:- for the purposes of this paper visual impairment is any reduction of normal function. More than one third of the people reading this paper are wearing spectacles (and a far higher proportion if they are over fifty) for at least part of the time; they all have a visual impairment. A disability is when that impairment makes any task difficult to perform. Which means that the people who have had to put on reading glasses have a disability; without your reading glasses you are unable to read. Now that might not matter if you are a peasant working in the fields. It is however a task that you are precluded from doing should you wish to do it. But a handicap is when you are actually prevented from performing a desired task (such as reading this paper) by the impairment.

Each individual perceives the world in a slightly different way, in many cases disability is the combination of more than one problem.

The eye is a roughly spherical organ built a bit like a football. The outer coat, seen as the "white" of the eye, is the sclera, at the front it has a transparent round area, the cornea.

Within the sclera is the choroid, its main function is to carry the vascular system which provides nutrients for the other structures of the inner eye. Within the choroid is the retina. The human retina contains over a million light-sensitive receptor cells, the rods (which perceive movement and form) and the cones (which perceive colour and detail). Each receptor is connected through the optic nerve to the visual cortex in the brain. The eye behaves very much like a camera, or more accurately a video system. Light is focused by the cornea and lens at the retina. The iris controls the amount of light that actually reaches the retina. It dilates (widens) in dim light, and constricts (narrows) when the light is bright. In the young person the ciliary muscle acts to alter the curvature of the lens to allow a clear image of close objects; the process of accommodation. This ability gradually diminishes with age (presbyopia). Perfectly healthy eyes may be myopic (shortsighted), or hypermetropic (long-sighted) or astigmatic (the image is elongated). Presbyopia, myopia, hypermetropia and astigmatism can all be corrected with spectacles, or in suitable cases, contact lenses.

The myopic eye is longer or larger than the normal. The light from a far object is focused by the cornea and lens in front of the retina. A concave lens is prescribed to refocus the image sharply on the retina. Myopia, which is relatively rare in early childhood, is usually genetically determined. It frequently becomes manifest during the teens and stabilises in the twenties. This so-called "normal" myopia is distinguished from severe myopia, where the retina becomes so stretched that it may suffer irreversible damage. Detachment of the retina from its supporting structures is far more common in myopia, and any sudden loss of visual field demands immediate investigation. Myopia may occur in early adult life as a consequence of changes in the shape of the cornea (for example keratoconus), or later due to changes in the structure of the lens (index myopia which is associated with early cataract).

Cataract is the term that is used to describe any loss in transparency of the lens. Surgical removal of an opaque lens is now a very straightforward procedure, the eye is then described as "aphakic". In the aphakic eye, although the light path is unobstructed, light is unfocussed. A lens to replace the natural one must be worn as spectacles, or contact lens(es), or a tiny lens may be implanted in the eye close to the original position of the lens (pseudophakia). Each alternative has disadvantages. The spectacles are necessarily thick and cause an unavoidable 30% increase in image size, which make things appear closer than they actually are, and while vision may be excellent straight ahead, there are unpleasant aberrations in the periphery. A contact lens solves many of these problems, but not everyone can handle them competently or wear them comfortably. Intraocular lenses are now commonplace, bat their long-term effects are still unknown and most surgeons will use them on older patients. Whichever of these alternatives is used, the aphakic eye is still unable to accommodate, and additional spectacles are needed for near vision. Cataracts may be congenital, i.e.present at birth, because only a severely degraded image is formed at the retina, the visual pathways fail to develop properly unless the cataract is removed within the first few months of life. Juvenile cataracts tend to be non-progressive, and sometimes good vision can be demonstrated simply by dilating the pupil, allowing the light past the cataract through to the retina. Cataract may be secondary to intra-uterine infections such as rubella, but many are genetically determined. Cataracts may develop at any time of life or be caused by injury, certain drugs, or some types of radiation. Some systemic diseases, of which diabetes is the most common, can cause cataract, but by far the most common types occur in elderly people and are associated with age.

Macular degeneration is responsible for about 30% of all recognised visual disability in the developed countries. There may be partial or total loss of central vision so that vision requiring the discrimination of fine detail such as reading becomes difficult or impossible. The disorder never leads to total loss of sight, ability to get about remains unimpaired. The most common type, disciform degeneration, is due to leaking of the vasculature in the macular area. The term "senile" has now been abandoned in favour of the kinder "age-related"; but there are juvenile forms too. The first signs are a central distortion or blurring often occurring quite suddenly. Vertical or horizontal lines such as a window frame or a line of print may appear to be crooked. Macular degeneration can been arrested by prompt laser treatment in suitable cases. Other macular problems are caused by the deposition of pigment cells, cysts, haemorrhages etc or may be associated with high myopia or diabetes. Diabetes is now the commonest cause of visual disability in people below retirement age in the developed countries. New fragile blood vessels develop in the eye which easily break. The resulting haemorrhage can obscure and eventually destroy vision. The blood is trapped within the vitreous where it forms an opaque fibrous mass which may drag the retina off its supporting structures. In the early stages the subject may be totally unaware that vision is threatened, but some changes in the eye are very frequent after ten years, and universal after 20. Retinopathy is delayed and reduced if control of blood sugar is good. The advent of the laser has dramatically reduced the effects of diabetic retinopathy. Photography of the retina when the blood vessels are shown up by a special dye (fluorescein angiography), identifies the vessels "at risk", which can then be sealed by a painless out-patient procedure. Even at a very late stage, when vision may be barely perception of light, an operation called vitrectomy may be performed where the vitreous (and sometimes the lens too) can be removed.

Glaucoma is the loss of vision caused by the effects of increased pressure within the eye. This increase is usually due to a blockage in the aqueous drainage system, the drainage channels themselves becoming either narrowed or clogged. The pressure causes damage to the weakest part of the globe, which is where the optic nerve enters the eye. Bundles of nerve fibres lose sensitivity, and eventually become blind. The loss occurs in a typical pattern, with vision being reduced to a narrow tunnel of perhaps 10 degrees before being totally extinguished. Glaucoma may be acute, when vision becomes cloudy, and there is much pain. Chronic Glaucoma has an insidious onset, and may be undetected until a very late stage. Glaucoma may be arrested by the creation of an improved draining system by laser or surgery; or eye drops which dilate the drainage system can be used. Once vision is lost though, it cannot be recovered.

Retinitis pigmentosa (RP) is the common term for a group of disorders that are recognised by clumps of pigment appearing on the retina. Although it quite often appears with no family history, classically the pattern is dominant (i.e. appearing in every generation), recessive (appearing where both parents, who are apparently free of the disease, actually carry the gene), or x-linked (passed through an unaffected carrier mother whose father and uncles might be affected, to her sons). Most often RP is first manifest in the teens or twenties by difficulties in reduced light, the so-called night-blindness, and difficulty adapting to sudden changes in light such as leaving home on a sunny day. Later peripheral vision narrows down to "tunnel" vision. In other forms the field remains relatively good, but central vision is affected. The pattern is very variable with some people losing sight totally in their forties, others continuing to have useful sight into old age. Sadly, although dozens of "cures" have been offered, none have so far been shown to alter the relentless course of the disorder.

Hemianopia, or half vision, is caused by damage to the visual pathways, ie the optic nerve or brain. Because the macula is represented on both sides of the brain, it is usually preserved. Hemianopias are caused by such events as strokes or head injuries, and may be complete or partial. The nasal half of each field may be missing, or the temporal, or the right- or left-hand side may be missing of fields of both eyes (homonymous hemianopia).

There are over 50 definitions of blindness currently in use throughout the world, ranging from no perception of light through to anything less than 6/18 (20/60).

In the advanced countries most blindness occurs among the elderly as a consequence of the degenerative disorders associated with age. Macular degeneration accounts for over 30% of recognised blindness in Europe and North America. Such disorders usually leave the person with some useful vision, but activities such as reading are severely limited.

Most people are familiar with visual acuity charts, and have heard the terms 6/6 (or 20/20). This is a measure of visual acuity. It means simply that the person can see at 6 metres what a normal person can discern at that distance. If the person can only get 6/12, than they can discern at 6 metres what a person with normal vision can discern at 12 metres. The top letter on an eye chart is what the normal person can discern at 60 metres. It is really a simple fraction and the Americans who, in this instance at least, are way behind the rest of the world, are still working in feet and inches, thereby giving themselves some nasty sums (6 metres is about 20 feet). A lot of Europeans work in decimals, but the figure remains the same. We are of course talking only about high contrast data at the retina, in much eye disease the sensitivity of the eye to relatively low levels of contrast is much reduced, but the standard charts do have relevance to normal reading.

No one has accurate figures on the prevalence of visual disability, but the most reliable figures we have for the United Kingdom suggest a figure of 520 per ten thousand of the population, or about 0.5%. The British statistics are probably relevant for the rest of Europe. There are regular reports published by the Office of Population Census and Surveys; extrapolating from their figures the proportion of old people in the community is increasing faster than any other group. To put it another way, if you are under 16 you have about a one in three thousand chance of having a visual disability, if you are employment age it is perhaps one in a thousand, but when you are over 75 it is one in 30. Financial institutions no doubt have a profile of their customers, which the writer does not; but it is likely that a fair amount of business is done with elderly people. They are unlikely to be totally blind, and unlikely to be receptive to high-technology devices, they are likely to have other disabilities as well.

The visually handicapped person carries penalties that are often not noticed, and occasionally ignored. These are both financial and emotional. The social penalties in many ways are the most important ones. A person with a loss of detailed vision will be trying to identify a person not by his features, he will be looking for other clues like outline and perhaps, trying to make an image on the remaining retina that is still working, he loses eye-to-eye contact which is a great disadvantage. I have heard mothers say to their visually handicapped child "look at me when I am talking to you" when the child is looking over the mothers head to try to get the best image of her. There are activities from which they are precluded, like driving, there are activities that they cannot join in, e.g. sports. They have problems with appearance, their eyes may look peculiar in some disorders, they may have difficulty selecting clothes and certainly checking that those clothes are clean. They may have difficulty in education where they may find themselves segregated, and of course there are all the problems of finding suitable work and simply coping with "being different". There are financial penalties not covered by the subject matter of these proceedings. There are difficulties where prices cannot be read; driving is out, so taxis become a necessity. Things like decorating or sewing become almost impossible, then of course there is the cost of retraining and special institutions. Much education needs special materials, some subjects are restricted and there is no doubt that visually handicapped students have to work very hard to keep up.

Financial penalties also occur at work; although happily the days when blind people could only find employment making baskets in institutions are now history in the UK, it certainly persists in some countries.

We find that there is a much higher rate of unemployment among visually handicapped people; that their promotion tends to be limited, and space has to be found for extra equipment. There are many tales of people with loss of vision being given cul-de-sac type jobs which do not utilise expensively gained skills and experience.

When it comes to emotional penalties, it is interesting that there is a much higher incidence of marital breakdown.

In the clinic, before we can achieve good acceptance of low vision aids we have to get rid of a lot of the superstitions and "witchcraft" surrounding peoples' attitudes to disability in general, and blindness in particular.

There is some evidence that people believe that if they have eye disease, using the eyes makes it worse. They believe that vision can be used up like money in a bank account, where one can draw a limited amount per day. The loss is considered to be some sort of retribution, caused either by some behaviour in childhood, or in some way "straining" the eyes.

Low vision clinics are providing techniques and appliances that will maximise the use of vision. It is important that everyone understands that no device is going to replace vision. They all have disadvantages, and all demand adaptation. A low vision aid is any gadget that helps. It is useful to divide the devices into high-tech, low-tech or no-tech, of which by far the largest and most important group is the low-tech.

There are many methods readily available that do not involve complex devices. Magnification is helpful in the majority of cases. If there is a "hole" in the vision, enlargement can make the hole be effectively lost within the object of regard rather than the other way around. The easiest way to magnify things is simply to get closer. By halving the distance the angle projected at the retina is doubled.

Enlarged telephone dials are produced by the RNIB, but so far there is no practical alternative to a standard push button phone other than one specially made with large buttons. Large-print bank statements are readily available in the U.K. (and elsewhere) preserving privacy (loss of privacy is yet another of the penalties of visual disability). Line guides made of dark materials are designed for cheque books, helping the individual to find his way along the lines.

There is a lot of evidence that in most eye diseases people actually need much more light than the average person. There is also the interesting statistic that by the time you are sixty your retina receives only one third of the light that it did when you were twenty. With the majority of personal wealth on the hands of this age group, there are implications for bank design both for overall illumination and spot illumination at a surface where people are supposed to write. Ideally people should be able to control their own illumination but that perhaps is a counsel of perfection.

Many people would need to use a simple hand magnifier in a bank, but notice that it will take up one of the hands. Now if it is necessary to write something there are problems. Somebody with an additional handicap has got even more problems and may need a magnifier on a stand, which is not going to travel with him when he goes to the bank. Something like a quarter of the people recognised as having a visual disability have another disability as well. Even something as common as hand tremor can preclude the use of a simple lens. Some years ago one of the UK banks installed some large illuminated and very expensive stand magnifiers; they were disappointed that the devices were little used. They had fallen into two common errors:- firstly equating cost with potential benefit, and secondly assuming that a large magnifier would be more useful than a smaller one. Unfortunately large lenses are always low powered. Such powers can easily be obtained in spectacles.

Magnifiers can be spectacle-mounted; inevitably they demand a very short working distance, often casting a shadow, and impossible in some situations. Telescopic spectacles provide a larger working distance, but alter spatial relationships, and reduce the field of vision.

Which brings us to the last group; the high-tech devices. At the present time they are fairly marginal. The most common of them are closed circuit television systems; these machines all consist of the same component and we have got lots of them. There is a TV camera, material put on a platform under that camera and the image projected on to a screen; magnification of 40x is relatively easy to obtain. They have the possibility of producing a negative image, we are all so used to black print on a white page that we forget that we are actually seeing the white page not the black print. We do not see blackness, it takes fight (or white) to stimulate the visual system. In addition there is concern about phototoxicity and light sensitivity in some disorders, total light at the eye is much reduced by having white print on a black page.

If we are going to give people electronic images, the first thing that they need is privacy; a person with normal sight could read the screen across the room.

If you are going to give people electronic displays in remote terminals, the images need to be acceptable to people who are using them. They need to be high contrast: a light emitting diode display or even ordinary ink print will be seen when a liquid crystal display will not. Ideally displays need to be adjustable in size, alternatively people need to be able to use magnifiers of any type. Of course the instructions need to be adapted to the individual who will need them.

The visually handicapped group at some time or other is going to include everyone who normally wears glasses or whose glasses are not up-to-date.

Workshop on Financial Transactions by Visually Disabled Persons - Keynote Speech

Jan-Ingvar Lindström, The Swedish Handicap Institute, Sweden

Guidelines

The organizers of this workshop are known to be very organized people. So its no surprise that we participants have been equipped with guidelines in order to continue our efforts towards a common goal - the goal of, at least partly, solving the problems associated with financial transactions by visually disabled people in the future.

What we are supposed to discuss are services, money matters, home banking, automatic teller machines (ATMs) Electronic Funds Transfer at Point-of-sale (EFTPOS) and Future Technology. We have, however, also been provided with a paper concerning Background Information on Visual Disability, the figures of which should not be forgotten during this workshop.

Approach

There is no doubt that the above-mentioned guidelines are quite relevant and - processed by the participants in a professional way - will contribute significantly to the progress of this workshop and to improved living conditions of visually disabled people - VDPs. In spite of that, however, I'll take the liberty to cut the cake in a somewhat different manner, to see whether there are some hidden nuts to be digested. And I'll do that in the form of some questions to be discussed and hopefully answered. They are as follows:

What goal?

What are the overall goals? Could we agree upon that these are integration, normalization and participation, i.e. the same rights for VDPs as for all other members in society? I hope the answer is an unambigous yes!

Who is concerned?

It's obvious that the group of VDPs does not reflect the composition of citizens in general. Firstly, one must be aware that there are two groups within the group, viz. those who have some residual vision - partially sighted - and those who have not - blind people. Also, one must not forget that a large fraction has additional disabilities, like hearing impairment, mental retardation etc. The question of multiple disability reflects another fact, viz. the unusual age distribution: 2/3 are above 65 years of age - at least in the industrialized countries. A fourth condition is the living circumstances, which may vary between, and even inside, the EEC countries - not to mention the differences between EEC countries and developing countries.

How far should our concern reach?

What transactions?

At a first glance, financial transactions may seem to be confined to bank affairs, but indeed, it's much more than so. Handling cash, cheques and cards as well as reading and signing contracts is something that must be included in the concept. And of course, coping with terminal of various kinds - ATMs, EFTPOS and Teledata, to mention some.

What applications?

The applications are diversified too. Doing business in a bank is of course one application, but perhaps still more important is to solve the problems in conjunction with ordinary shopping. A group of rather new problems have arisen from negotiating with various automats like tickets and stamp dispensers. And of course access to the increasing telephone service facilities give rise to situations where numbers, letters and other visual information appear, e.g. as an exhortation to pay or as part of the service.

What time paid?

What we do is hopefully of value for the future. But we sometimes say that the future is already here. The year 1995 has been mentioned as a target for our chase. But why not 1992 - the year of introduction of IBC (integrated broad-band communication) within the EEC? Or 1990? Or tomorrow?

The future is already here.

What problems?

The foreseen problems are many, and interlacing. However, one way to grasp them is to consider the steps of a transaction, viz.

  • to localize
  • to identify
  • to be identified, and
  • to act.
  • To localize means to find, get hold of things like
  • - Money

- Documents

- Service facilities;

these latter could be human beings as well as terminals of some kind. To find and get access to tellers and terminals is a big problem that could be tackled e.g. with the REACT concept (RNIB) and with the adaptation of various queuing-systems with speech synthesis, sound beacons etc. (Sweden).

  • To identify means to make sure what kind of facility is available, e.g.

- Money - the value and currency.

To some extent this is already possible due to significance in size and structure, but sometimes it’s impossible (consider e.g. the American dollar notes!) In some places, special machines have been developed for the identification, but this is of course a solution to be avoided!

- Documents - the text content, where to sign etc.

This problem could be overcome with the aid of reading machines, but the practical problems are great. Another method is to transfer the image of the document to some kind of Reading Service Centre, where sighted persons read the documents in confidence. Telefax-machines could be used for the transfer and telephones for the reading.

- Service facilities.

Identifying messages from terminals is possible with the aid of speech synthesis and soft- copy braille and large print. However when alternatives to visual information have to be used, problems of varying magnitude may appear, e.g. due to the use of graphics. This is basically a software problem.

- To be identified.

This is an increasing problem in modern society, and is not confined to financial transactions. Today's methods of authorizing transactions with a card and a numeric code are very unsatisfactory. The only thing one can be sure about then is that the card has been identified - anybody could be the individual behind it!

Generally speaking, in order to identify a person, he or she has to

  • know something, e.g. a strictly personal code
  • have something, e.g. access to a smart card
  • be something, i.e. display some unique personal clues
  • Unique things to display could be
  • finger prints
  • hand geometry
  • retinal structure
  • voice pattern
  • signature dynamics
  • keyboard dynamics

Finger-print technology is well known - less so hand geometry. Retinal structure needs some kind of eye-bottom scanning, which e.g. in the case of persons with cataracts doesn't make much sense. Voice pattern recognition is said to be increasingly safer and not affected by a temporal change due to a cold etc. Signature and keyboard dynamics (i.e. the way hand-writing and keyboard typing is performed) are also said to be unique for an individual. This again may leave VDPs with problems, as many of them don't do any hand-writing, nor, especially among the elderly, any keyboard writing.

The tendency seems to be a combination of code or smart card and one of the above-mentioned personal clues for identification.

To act is the final goal of any transaction, and probably this is a minor problem once the other problems have been overcome.

Conclusion

Summing up, at least the following question marks need to be straightened out in order to make it likely that VDPs should be able to cope with financial transactions in the future:

  • What are the prerequisites of the consumers?
  • What facilities for the transactions have we got - and will get in the future?
  • What future technology will be available - for the good and the bad?
  • What steps and measures should be taken from now on to avoid obstacles and promote appropriate technology?

Probably this workshop cannot present the full answers to these and other questions - but hopefully show methods to do so!

Financial Transactions and the Visually Handicapped: Notes

dr. ir. J Engelen, Katholike Universiteit Leuven, Belgium

General remarks

1. On the aim of the workshop

In order to permit autonomous bank financial transactions by the visually handicapped, a few technical decisions are to be made.

Therefore, I believe that the main purpose of this workshop is pinpointing the fields where research should be done, what kind of modifications to existing devices are needed and which decisions are to be made by the state (as a money printer) and by the banks.

But a few things can be realized only by political decisions (see below).

  • Are there any chances that our opinions reach the persons or groups that are in charge of these legal changes?

2. Recommendations to other people.

  • Can we have any influence on banks, telephone companies or manufacturers?

On the guideline texts:

Services

In Belgium we used to have open, unprotected banks. Almost ten years ago, after some spectacular robberies, most bank agencies were equipped with bullet-proof glass, drawers, microphones and the like.

Nowadays, many newer bank offices have two separate parts: simple financial transactions can be done on computer terminals, more complicated ones at the counters. The terminal room also has longer opening hours (especially early in the morning and late in the evening) than the manned part.

As a consequence, much more self-service activities will be allowed, and therefore a heavier use of all types of cards and of passwords can be foreseen.

  • All the existing self-service banks do not permit changing passwords by the user himself. As a consequence, more and more secret codes and passwords will be needed in the future. Is there any possibility for individuals to choose their passwords?

It is also important that a visually handicapped person who feared that someone had taken a look when they were entering their password at an ATM can have it changed easily.

Many new bank services imply also an agressive publicity campaign that sometimes can complicate the use of terminals by the visually handicapped, e.g. a special type of terminal is the bank statement printer. But this medium is completely commercialized: last week I needed one ticket, but the machine produced 6 pages: my own address on one page (why?) and then four announcements for new loans, a new type of car insurance, a seminar on Prestel/Videotex etc., and finally the wanted ticket. It would have been a torture for a slow reader.

  • The most urgent thing needed in the future will be an information sieve or filter for extracting relevant things from junk (a problem also encountered with the proliferation of fax-machines).

On information advertising:

I think that the use of CCTV for advertising will grow in the near future. High-quality commercial programs (on loans, investments etc.) are already common. The use of computers (which permit interactive work) will remain limited, as people became reluctant to start these programmes (you never know how much time you will spend at the screen before getting the right answer).

Money matters

On automatic check writing:

One supermarket chain (C&A) started with this "service": you only have to sign the check their computer has printed for you. This is a real problem for blind or visually impaired persons as they do not have any control over the cheque's contents.

Home banking

The use of computers and modems for bank transactions has been studied in greater detail at InfoVisie. I refer to the InfoVisie internal note on this subject (appendix I) and a few references.

ATM & EFTPOS

On programming the magnetic strip card for special effects:

This is common with the Belgian Bancontact cards: the teller machine gives its messages in Dutch, French, English or German, according to the inserted card.

  • A point for discussion: how to mark (cuttings, dymo tape) magnetic strip cards for a visually impaired person? What is permitted?

Keyboard and screen layout

On screen layout:

No standardization can be expected as these devices will be graphical (and even more cartoon-like) in the future.

  • Here only legal actions (e.g. urging that a simple ASCII layout should be available for every sophisticated graphics screen) can bring a solution.

Appendix: InfoVisie Internal report 89/01

Visually Handicapped and the use of Telebanking Systems

Gerrit Van den Breede & Jan J Engelen

June 16, 1989.

1. Introduction

Today, we see that the use of electronic data communication is rapidly growing. Many different systems are used. Special computer networks (often based on X.25 systems) or wireless systems do exist, but the most universal one (at least in western countries) is the telephone network.

An ever-increasing number of systems are based on the telephone: databases, paging networks, security systems, bulletin boards etc. make use of this network.

Just like other people, the visually handicapped persons start using more and more personal computers in combination with modems.

2. Telebanking

The traditional banking operations cause problems to the visually impaired; it is difficult for them to fill in the documents or to know the amount of money on their bank account. They always need someone to assist in these matters. Privacy was not possible.

We will use the word "telebanking" for the packet of automated services of a bank towards its customers. Although these services, except the answering computers with synthetic voice, were primarily based on small or medium-sized enterprises, they can be used by individuals too.

We will discuss the accessibility of these services by the visually impaired.

3. Banking terminals.

Banking via asynchronous modems started about five years ago in our country. But the real expansion started in 1988 -1989.

Therefore we made a study to find out:

  • which public telecommunication systems are used by the different banks:

- Videotex.

- X.25

- private bulletin board system (BBS).

  • which protocol is used:

- TTY

- VT52/VT100 or other ASCII

- Videotex/PresteI:MiniteI/Teletel, Bildschirmtext/BTX/CEPT or others

  • which protocols could be made accessible by visually impaired using a PC with large character software or a braille reading line (temporary braille).

As a general conclusion, we found that most of the banks can offer the TTY or VT100 protocols that are easily adaptable for the devices mentioned above.

But there are a few special cases:

  • One bank (Tiense Bank) introduced a pocket-size terminal with a touch-screen and a built-in modem. This device can be used by some low-vision individuals but it is not adaptable for use by the blind.
  • A few banks use the normal touch-tone telephone and a special synthesizer for giving information to the caller.

As an extra bonus of our study, we managed to bring the special problems of the visually handicapped under the attention of the persons who are in charge of telebanking at the different banks. Some banks are making account-certificates in braille for their blind customers, and one bank produces them in large print (by enlarged photocopy).

4. Automatic Cash Terminals.

In our country the two different systems of automatic cash dispensers (Bancontact & Mister Cash) became technically compatible last year. In the near future, Postomat (the system of our national postal services) will also be connected to the Bancontact/Mister Cash network.

These cash terminals are not usable by the blind and even difficult to use by the partially sighted. The InfoVisie group will make a study on this subject in the near future.

5. Telebanking with a speaking computer.

As a cheaper alternative to terminal telebanking, a few Belgian banks started synthetic voice systems.

Customers can call the bank's computer and give instructions via the touch-tone keyboard of their telephone set. The bank's computer answers with spoken messages in the language of the customer.

These systems are more and more used by other organizations (e.g. TeleCar, a database to look for a second-hand car). It's obvious that due to the principle of these systems, they are accessible for visually handicapped people.

6. Possibilities of the different telebanking systems.

The most important common possibilities of the different telebanking systems are :

  • consultation of your bank-account,
  • payment orders (both domestic and external payments, BEF and foreign currencies, individual and collective operations, with other banks)
  • exchange rates/interest rates consultation,
  • Multibank option (accounts administration between banks),
  • ordering bank papers (e.g. cheques),
  • to claim balance sheets, bankruptcies and compositions.

For some of these options, one must pay an extra fee.

The price for the standard options varies between free and 1.000 BEF/month. These telebanking systems were originally set up for small and large companies. In the beginning the connection was made by means of the telex-network. Today, we can often choose between the standard telephone connection, the Videotex-network, the DCS-network (X.25) and the telex-network.

7. COM-COM, interactive connection and paydisk-systems.

"COM-COM" stands for COMputer to COMputer connection. This type of connection is mostly used for transmitting a large amount of payment orders. It requires a security protocol (TRASEC-terminal, see below).

  • The interactive connection allows you to consult your account(s) and all kinds of bank information like exchange rates.
  • Payments can also be made without any direct connection with the computer of the bank. The bank offers their customers (mostly free) software to write their payment orders on a diskette (these systems include Paydisk and Softdisk). One can bring this diskette to the bank or send the content to the bank's computer by means of a PC and modem. This is done without special security measures. Therefore, in both cases, you have to go to your bank for confirming your instructions by placing your signature.

8. Security and standards.

If one wants to use the money-transfer options of terminal banking, one must rent a special encrypting terminal (in Belgium, mostly a TRASEC terminal) in combination with a chip-card. With this personal chip-card (the size of a credit-card) you can put a limited amount (1.400) of "electronic signatures".

PAY 90 is a multifunctional software packet that can be used with different banks. The packet is exclusively designed for the electronic execution of payments with maximum security. The payment-authority of different users within a company can be defined. It works with a TRASEC terminal and the cost of the PAY 90-packet is 60.000 BEF (1.500 USD). For about half that amount you can have the PAY 90-packet without the possibility of sending your payment orders by telephone line. Payment orders then are stored on diskette and you have to bring it to your bank (Paydisk principle). Unfortunately, not all the banks are using this PAY 90 "standard", but most of them accept diskettes with payment orders.

9. The visually handicapped and electronic banking : Conclusions.

  • The most important aspect of telebanking is that the visually handicapped can have more privacy and become more independent.
  • Telebanking with the standard touch-tone telephone and the speaking computer on the other side is the cheapest and most simple way of electronic banking. No special high-tech adaptations for the visually handicapped are needed.
  • All telebanking systems via terminals offer the possibility to present their screens in a non-graphic way (ASCII). Therefore, the contents of the screen can be output in braille, speech or enlarged characters.
  • Videotex has the possibility to split the screen in two. Each part can be enlarged so that it may become readable by low-vision individuals.

Workshop on Financial Transactions by Visually Disabled Persons

Roy Fletcher, Lloyds Bank, UK

1. Services

The greatest change to affect the personal banking sector within the United Kingdom over the next decade will be the emphasis to be placed on the sale of the multifarious financial services available. Branches are ceasing to be offices; they are becoming sales outlets. As the personal customer becomes more sophisticated in his/her financial service needs, so will the range of services available increase and become more complex.

This has been recognised, and we currently experience intensive and dedicated training of branch staff in being:-

  • aware in detail of the financial services available
  • able to identify customers' specific needs
  • capable of handling the transaction or, where the requirement is complex and/or elaborate, pass it on to the appropriate area of such expertise
  • supported by information technology available at the working position with "on-line" screen facilities relating to customer information and products.

To make available such staffing resources without increasing overheads is significantly accelerating the provision of customer self-service facilities. These are predominantly aimed at the simpler transactions relating to cash transactions, funds transfer and account enquiries being available inside and outside branch premises, the workplace, and at home. Such facilities will be available both within and outside normal branch opening hours.

There is therefore a need to accommodate this change of emphasis within branch premises in a dedicated open-plan/customer-friendly environment to facilitate and encourage more person-to-person contact. We can expect the processing, if transactions become established more and more in remote locations, either locally or in operational centres catering for a number or network of branches.

Sales and information services will become the front line of the banking branch. The traditional cashiering function not catered for in an entrance lobby by ATM and customer self-service equipment will tend to be positioned beyond the open areas, albeit on the ground floor and visible from the main entrance.

The problems to be addressed for visually disabled people will consequently include

  • how to cope with self-service equipment
  • where to go for a particular service
  • to ascertain what services are available
  • how to navigate through open-plan offices with desks, workstations, screens etc. out front.

We can assume that the necessary information advertising back will broadly remain the same through in-branch displays, press, radio and television media coupled with general and specific mailshots on the doormat.

2. Money Matters

Although Electronic Funds Transfer at Point-of-sale will be extensive in the market place between now and 1995, we certainly cannot envisage in any way a Cashless or Chequeless society. The trend will be towards a Less-Cash and Less-Cheque society,

Despite the various inroads made into money transmission by automated payments within the U.K., we still experience a growth in cheque usage of around 4% a year and for the time being could envisage this remaining. British Standards for cheque-writing machines have been established now for sometime. However, the impetus currently placed on the issue of Debit Cards and the quite significant response for this means of payment in addition to the existing popularity of Credit Cards lead us to consider as to whether the cheque-writing machines initiative could be bypassed. The recent increase of the Cheque Card guarantee sum from £50 to £100 and in some instances to £250 may help to forestall the lower use of cheques at point of sale.

With the ever-increasing use of Automated Credit Systems, the use of paper paying-in slips and Bank Giro Credits in particular has more or less totally flattened out.

Nevertheless, with the introduction of the Poll Tax in England and Wales next year, Bank Giro Credit volume will undoubtedly increase; possibly quite significantly.

Single queuing systems at the tills of banks, building societies and post offices are fast becoming the norm throughout the U.K. The general trend is towards queue control barriers with lighting signs indicating that a cashier is available for service. There are a few where a ticket numbering system is in use.

Looking to account information we can expect the issue of printed statements to remain the most prolific means of presentation. This is particularly so bearing in mind that this facilitates the dissemination of product information by messages on statements, mailshots, enclosures etc. Both braille and large-print statements are readily available from most major banks in the U.K., although the production of marketing information by such means is somewhat more limited.

So in these particular services in respect of the needs of the visually disabled, we can summarise that

  • Cheques and paper credits will continue in use, supported by the issue of templates to assist in the completion of such forms.
  • There is a need to establish as to whether it is feasible to facilitate the use of debit or credit card transactions at the point of sale.
  • With the high usage of plastic cards, telephone ordering backed by answer-phones is available, and even the present high usage is expected to increase substantially.
  • The availability of braille and large print for statements, product information and communications has to be encouraged and further developed.
  • We may have to accept the difficulties encountered in most forms of queuing systems, as all types of service stations and positions.

3. Home Banking

There are many various home banking experiments and pilot schemes being trialled throughout the U.K. at present and we are confident that these facilities will grow substantially. Such services could prove to be a boon to both the visually and physically disabled. However, these schemes are in competition and there is a risk of non-standardisation.

Many of the trials are of a voice-driven/voice-response type and consequently of particular benefit for the visually disabled. There could be a danger that the second generation of such experiments may be of a screen-driven/response/confirmation basis only. The current services available are:

  • account balance enquiries
  • ordering cheque books, paying-in books, statements, bill payments and funds transfer with enquiry and cancellation facilities
  • setting up, amendment and cancellation of Standing Order and Direct Debit enquiries
  • ordering Travel Facilities
  • ordering information and marketing packs.

Therefore at this stage amongst the major aspects to be established are

  • standardisation of equipment, keyboard function
  • availability of continuing voice and, where screen is available, "large-print" presentation of information security and confidentiality
  • connection of such systems to retail and other outlets for enquiries, ordering, payment and indexed directories etc.
  • when well-established and in high use, concessionary rates for the disabled
  • perhaps, in the longer term, language translation facilities could be available for most forms of automated self-service?

4. ATMs and EFTPOS

We envisage a dramatic increase in retailer Point-of-sale terminal installations over the next few years, now that the shopping public have so readily taken advantage of the Credit and Debit Card transactions. Network switches are increasing - both domestic and international. Voice and "large-print" response' is being considered at ATMs; such needs possible being identified through the magnetic stripe. It is recognised that these enhancements will have time penalties.

Standardisation is a major consideration here, particularly bearing in mind that the present drive towards a common currency will lead to a need for standard systems relating to personal financial payments and funds transmission.

Amongst the issues to be addressed here are:

  • standard PIN pad layouts
  • keys to have orientation "pimples"
  • voice reception, possibly through specific radio frequency or simply earphone socket
  • agreement on common functions/services
  • common screen formats

Some Reflections About Future Financial Transactions

Michel Jacquin, Association Valentin Haüy, France

Before trying to answer the various questions which constitutes the object of our work, it seems necessary to examine several points that condition the development of financial transactions:

1. Security of property

In the past, this security was guaranteed:

  • In the bank, by the difficulty of transferring and erasing the data representing the money.
  • In the pocket of the owner, the wallet and purse were under his personal guard and the eventual loss or theft was restricted to the corresponding amount.

Now that we use more and more "immaterial money", it is an absolute necessity to strengthen the links between the owner and the data representing his money:

A code number only known by the owner does not seem a sufficiently sure solution for credit cards. It would be better, if it were feasible, to certify the ownership of the card with a physical characteristic of the buyer - pattern of the fingerprints of his "living finger"; as opposed to “dead fingerprints" left on any object, liable to be copied. Or vocal characteristics or any other personal singularity. Actually anybody can use the credit card you have lost to buy a lot of goods in many stores.

  • In the bank and communication links, to protect and make more difficult the change of property of data.

2. Development of communications and methods to classify and retrieve information

In order that the "immaterial money" could be used everywhere, even on the stall of an out-of-door greengrocer, these developments are necessary.

When information was kept inside separate data banks and separate computers, it was relatively easy to classify and look for it. But now that computers must be more and more linked and work in real-time, we are faced with an ocean of information and it seems a big problem, not only for the next five years, but probably longer term. This is true not only for money but also for any other kind of information: we are now flooded with papers, screens and loudspeakers giving "passive” information that we have to "browse through", and retain only an infinitesimal part of it. The next big step will be a general "positive" and interactive way to ask and display data in order to get immediately and from anywhere all the required information, including money matters.

In my opinion these two first points are the necessary conditions in order that paying-in slips and physical money itself become a thing of the past. Naturally, meanwhile we will have a composite system with papers and time-delayed financial operations. Probably, even in the future, a part of the operations will remain time-delayed: for instance with smart credit cards playing the role of a wallet and a purse, coupled with portable "money transaction machines" suited to retain in their memory (with absolute security) the transfers of property between the cards of the buyers and those of the vendors.

The ease of operation of such machines should be at least equal to that of exchange of banknotes and coins.

3. The necessary conditions for an exchange

When we buy something there are three conditions to be fulfilled for both the parties:

  • Verify the characteristics of the goods offered
  • Have the feedback of the amount of money that will be taken for it
  • Have the true owners of both elements of the exchange giving their agreement.

When we buy something by telephone from home and pay with a credit card, these conditions are not fulfilled: we do not see or touch the goods we buy, neither are we able to verify the amount of money that is really taken from our credit card once the code number is given.

This will improve in the future, with video presentation of the goods and by allowing the buyer to see the certified amount of money that will be taken, and he only will be able to give his agreement to the transaction.

The problem is much more difficult for blind persons. We must always ask for a multi-media display of goods and not only a graphical one.

The same thing should be true for the other element of the exchange, that is the amount of money.

4. Multi-media display rather than a "tailored" one

I am rather reluctant to accept a "tailored" presentation of information, for instance by putting some indication about my blindness inside the memory of a smart credit card. Not only because we don't like to be "set apart" in any way if at all possible, but also for more logical reasons: if a multi-media display might prove to be a nuisance to the neighbourhood or give lack of privacy to a sighted operator, it will be the same for the blind one.

On the other hand, if a different display is added for the user without having great inconveniences for others, it will be an advantage not only for the blind user but, in a smaller degree naturally, for all others. To have several media simultaneously displaying information is always an advantage for everybody: it considerably diminishes the probability of errors, and lessens the amount of effort needed - this is what is now beginning to be done for pilots of aircraft and electrical dispatchers who have an "overload" of visual information.

In conclusion it seems to be essential to have a multi-media display, for the goods offered as well as for feedback of the amount of money taken in exchange. All of the points on the agenda of our Workshop should be examined with this idea in mind.

In my country, where the Minitel is more and more used for financial transactions, it seems that a credit card reader should be incorporated.

Financial Transactions Workshop

Lars Klusell, Philips Financial Business Systems AB, Sweden

Services

Services in Banks

The services in the banking area will expand to comprise anything that is related to money as:

  • Brokerage - estate, cars, stocks, bonds, metal, grain ...
  • Saving services - saving accounts, pensions, investment funds...
  • Payment services - transfers, giro, standing orders, bill payments ...
  • Financing - loans, credits, mortgages...
  • Trust funds
  • Safety deposit
  • Advisory services - what to do, how to do it, where/when to do it, means, tools ...
  • Legal services - wills, contracts ...
  • "Salary accounts" for everyone !

Financial transactions

  • The majority of the value of transactions will be non-cash based - telectronic, card-based....
  • The majority of volume of transactions in society will be cash.
  • The majority of volume of transactions within the financial industry will be electronic.
  • Routine-oriented transactions will go to self-service.

Building layout

Every bank will change their branches to service offices: an open customer-friendly environment. A branch office will mainly be designed for self-service in lobby and vestibule, advisory services and marketing/selling activities.

Information and Advertising

The competitive situation will be much tougher, and thereby advertising will be a paramount tool and all means must be used:

  • Mechanic
  • Papers and magazines
  • TV-commercial
  • Videos in branches
  • Videos in windows of branches
  • Campaigns

Personalized - per type of customer

  • Telephone
  • Letters
  • Personal bankers
  • Branch office invitations
  • Campaigns

Customer testing

  • New services in specific areas

Active training of customers in branches to use self-service.

All this means a tremendous challenge to train staff!

Money Matters

Payment slips will continue, especially for Giro payments.

Bills can be pre-printed with information on receiver/sender, but must be authorized before processing. OCR - Optical Character Recognition - will eliminate a lot of the work.

For deposit, withdrawals, transfers etc, made by a teller or in self-service, slips will vanish. The customer fills in an electronic form and a receipt is produced.

Statements will continue to be produced, but more in self-service.

  • The more transactions, the higher needs for statements.
  • The costs for postage is too high.
  • "Semi-statement" by voice response.

Automatic check writing systems will be no major issue.

Debit Cards will explode in volumes.

A bank card will be used for self-service, payments in shops etc, and the customer can choose to have credit or not.

The use of Queuing Systems will increase. In large offices, dedicated queues will be used for:

  • Business customers
  • "Special customers"
  • Bulk customers

Identification for type of customer will be found in the bank card. In small offices single queuing system will be used.

For very large branches, as post offices, you will see single queuing systems for all tellers!

Home Banking

In the last few years "home banking" projects, "anywhere banking", "telebanking" - all terms coined by different banks in different countries to describe this type of service - have been started. Only in Sweden, several of the main banks provide this service.

There are several reasons for this development.

The marketplace for the financial institutions is changing. No longer can the institutions rely on the loyal customer who puts all of his or her financial business in one place, will continue to do so throughout his or her lifetime, and the children of the customer will use the same financial institution.

Instead there are forces which the bank must consider if they are to maintain their position in the world of finance, and maintain the level of services they offer to their customers. These forces ranges from competition from non-financial as well as other financial institutions to the attitude of the customer.

More and more non-financial institutions are giving customers services that were traditionally provided by the banks. Examples are credit card companies, large department stores and insurance companies.

The attitude of the customer has become more and more important.

Because customers of today are more financially aware than they where in the past. They have access to more information via specialised magazines, radio, television etc.

Customers also demand more services from the bank today. To get everything from mortgages and personal loans to investment and legal advice under "one roof” is no longer the exception, but is becoming the rule.

The customer are themselves in an area of tough competition where time is important. Time means that financial information/services from the banks must be available at the customer's convenience, which might be 24 hours a day.

Home Banking, based on the telephone set, is one way for the banks to meet these demands.

With such a system the bank can reach all there customers having a telephone at home.

Traditionally, when a customer telephones the bank or asks a question to the front office staff, the question usually falls into one of the following groups:

  • Balance inquiry
  • Transaction history inquiry
  • Transfer between accounts
  • Information on products or services

In most cases, this is information that is already stored on the bank's database. To get the information, however, the front office staff, or the person on the telephone, must enter the appropriate account number, make a note of the information, and then relay that to the customer. They must also, of course, establish that the person asking the questions is authorized to receive the information.

With a Home Banking System, based on each customer’s telephone set and a Voice Response System (VRS) connected to the computer and the database in the bank, the usual questions as balance inquiry and transaction history inquiry as well as transfer between accounts etc. can be managed.

In the future, when Home Banking is more common than today, the services may be increased and may also include different types of terminals such as the telex and even PCs.

Self-service Devices - ATMs etc.

The future Self-service Machines - Automatic Teller Machines, Information Terminals, Statement Printers, Pass Book Updating Terminals etc etc - will follow the technical development in general. It is expected that display technology will give displays in colour with improved readability, that voice will be added to the system and that the attraction value of the unit, both for the bank and for the user, will increase. It is likely that SSB devices will be split into different units depending on function and place of standing.

High security of premises

  • Cash delivery - streets, shopping malls etc.
  • Often pools
  • Basic Service
  • Vestibule - fairly high security
  • Any service
  • Bank oriented
  • Part of branch system
  • Lobby - same as vestibule but with high security

Future Technology

Smart Card - facts and trends.

There has been a fast technical development of the Smart Card in the last ten years. The investment in the technology has been very large and today state of the art includes 6K ROM, 3K E2PROM, 128b RAM and a fast DES algorithm.

There has been agreement on standards regarding the physical and mechanical characteristics, and there are draft proposals concerning electrical interfaces, procedures and exchange protocol.

Application areas today could be seen to be divided into two mainstreams: consumer and professional use.

Examples in the consumer area are existing payment systems in France and Norway plus some experiments going on. There are also experiments going on concerning Encrypted TV and Personal Files. In the professional area security systems based on the Smart Card technology is increasing rapidly.

In a five to ten years perspective the card with chips will replace the magnetic track card. In the same time frame we can expect that the prices will go down with quantities - chip cost - and increased features - memory, processing power and sophistication.

Speech Synthesis for Automatic Teller Machines (ATM) and for Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Service (EFTPOS).

Henrik Laursen, The Danish Association of the Blind, Denmark

1. In the Danish Association of the Blind, the Standing Committee for Aids for the Visually Handicapped has decided to work for providing ATMs and EFTPOS with synthetic speech output. The reasons for doing so are obvious. The reasons for our initial optimism were the following:

  • In Denmark, all banks and savings banks are joining a common system of financial transactions, PBS. Therefore, all the 175 ATMs connected are of the very same kind, and as for the app. 10,000 EFTPOSs, there are only 2 different types, one type producing a voucher that equals cash money, another type that transfers directly the amount of money you must pay for your purchases or for your services. Until now, all Danes have met only these 3 devices.
  • From start to end, you are guided through the simple process in a logical and instructive way. The human interface is in fact - human! The steps are the following:

A. For ATMs.

The ATM consists of a numeric 789-keyboard and a display, a screen approx 6"x 6". The display is surrounded by 6 keys, 3 on each side. The reset key is a separate button. All keys are to be pressed down. The card is put into a slot. All the keys are easily found, the numeric keys being divided by a metal frame, the other 6 being placed in hollows.

1. When you are going to use the ATM, you will read on the screen: "Insert card". A protective cover is removed, and

2. the screen writes: "Key PIN-code". Having done that - you hear a tone for every key -

3. the screen displays 6 windows, each suggesting the amount of money to be withdrawn. The 6 keys surrounding the screen are placed next to these windows. When a choice has been made

4. the screen asks you whether you want a receipt or not, in two windows. The two bottom keys of the screen are also the answer keys for this question. When a choice has been made,

5. you are asked to remove your card from the slot. Thereafter

6. the bank-notes and eventually the receipt are dispensed. During this process, a flashing message is written: Remember your receipt and money.

B. For EFTPOS

The principle is the same as for the ATMs: you are guided through a simple process with only a few commands. The EFTPOS-process is terminated by pressing an "approval” key. This is done by the customer. By adding a voice-echo to the commands written on the screen and to the keys - except when typing the PIN-code - you will have a system that can easily be handled by the visually handicapped:

- only 3 different terminals to be learned

- press-down buttons in frame or in hollows

- spoken output

If the ATMs and EFTPOSs from the beginning were designed also for the visually handicapped person, I think the design could have been very similar to the actual one. That the speech is to be activated is a piece of information to be registered in the card. The up-down, front-back-of-the-card problem is not a problem. The individual user can easily make his own unequivocal marking. Efforts in this tiny area are futile, if the blind person cannot continue the interactive process after having inserted the card into the slot.

2. After having met the coordinator of the development of the card and terminal products within the PBS-system, I find the situation to be like this:

  • The design and function of the EFTPOS connected to the PBS-system has just been set free, which means that in the future you will meet many different types.
  • The EFTPOS-terminals are paid for by the shops etc. that sell the goods/services. I was told that they must be as cheap as possible. Until now, the cost has been approximately 1.300 dollars per unit. We have calculated that the speech unit would cost 200 dollars extra, if it is mass-produced. This is obviously quite a different situation. We imagine two possible solutions:

I: a dictate from the State, or from the EEC, that all terminals must be supplied with synthetic speech. This is more like a fantasy, our experience with State institutions like the Post Office authorities and the railways does not encourage optimism.

II: within the general concept for the development of ATMs and EFTPOS, which is that of profit; you could make the provision of the terminals with speech output a question of competitiveness. The shops with talking terminals could count on a number of blind and elderly customers. Since this is a group of customers that is not particularly well off, general goodwill might be of greater value to shopkeepers. An argument for the banks could be that a number of expensive personal routine-services could be saved.

Financial Transactions and the Visually Disabled: 1995 and Beyond

Stewart MacKinnon, Irish Bankers' Federation, Ireland

Background

This paper has been prepared as a personal contribution to the Workshop. At the outset, let me place on record the fact that the Irish banks may not necessarily concur with all of the views expressed in this paper. This should not be perceived purely as a disclaimer. Let me make it clear that what I have to say is no more than one person's view of the future, which is at best uncertain.

My primary task is to offer a prediction on how I perceive retail banking services being delivered in 1995 and beyond. I intend to avoid making generalisations about what you know already, viz. the very real problems which visually disabled people face each day. As I shall demonstrate later, I want to cover the major issues to be discussed at this Workshop in a frank and forthright way. You may not agree with what I have to say. I hope, however, that my suggestions will not be regarded as being expedient. A word of caution - I think we should all bear in mind that the recommendations which may emerge from this Workshop, and ultimately from the EC Concerted Action Programme, require to be both realistic and cost-effective.

It may be argued at this Workshop that the needs of the visually disabled have been ignored by banks in the past; this is most definitely not the case - rather I would say that their special needs may not have been suitably acknowledged in banks' overall planning strategies. I do not think that, in any event, we should at the Workshop get into the area of attaching blame for perceived past failures - its better to concentrate on identifying workable solutions for the future.

Some Insights

I must confess that it was only when I had accepted the invitation to participate in the Workshop that I began to comprehend the problems encountered by visually disabled persons in banking transactions. My work as a policy strategist has to date concentrated on the problems of the banks themselves arising from the quite unprecedented changes which have taken place over the last decade in the financial market place. The confines of this paper do not permit a detailed discussion of those changes, nor of the challenges and threats confronting the industry in the years ahead.

Suffice to say that market forces, such as the growth of consumerism, financial deregulation and intensification of competition among players in the financial services market compelled banks to change the way that they conduct their business. Energies have been devoted to responding to change in the industry as a whole, rather than looking at problems facing specific customer segments of their business.

That is not to say that needs of customers have been neglected. Far from it - a major part of banks' growth strategies worldwide has been to increase their business by responding to customers' needs in a sensitive, speedy and convenient fashion. The application of technology in banking has been the spur of change.

Broadly speaking, technology has been applied by banks in major areas, (a) the automated processing of paper-based payment instruments - a development which does not directly concern this Workshop and (b) in automated services delivery. This latter aspect is central to the Workshop's theme, and I am sure it will exercise our imagination and initiative over the next two days.

I shall now address the issues emerging under the broad headings prescribed in the Workshop's format, outlining views as to the likely future developments in banking and offering possible solutions to the problems which may be encountered by the visually disabled.

Services

Retail banking today is all about the provision of quality customer services. Rather than being task-structure, banks are rapidly putting in place customer-focused structures. Quite frankly, unless this is done, a retail bank's prospects of surviving in the uncertain markets ahead are dismal.

Branch outlets will increasingly become more and more sales- and services-led. This implies (I) the removal of routine work away from service outlets to allow bank staff to interact with clients ; (II) radically reducing, through technology, paperwork in providing services and administering customers' accounts.

The design and layout of service outlets in future will reflect this general strategy. Much greater emphasis will be placed on customer space in branches. There will be a gradual breakdown of the divide between space utilised by bank staff and that of customers. Open-planning of outlets will be an essential feature of this development; the main aim will be to make banks less intimidating and more welcoming and service-friendly. I would tend to the view that, in keeping with these design and layout changes, single queuing systems will become more and more commonplace.

Bank opening hours are a central issue. Current opening hours in Ireland are wholly inadequate, and militate against the service-led approach to banking. They require to be extended as a matter of urgency, and I am pleased to say the matter is currently being addressed in my country. This problem, of course, is not unique to Ireland.

That removal of routine and mundane jobs from service outlets should allow greater one-to-one customer/staff interaction, which is another core issue. Extensive staff training programmes being introduced in the Irish banks do not, at present, give specialist training to staff in interacting with the visually disabled. While bank staff are generally sensitive to the difficulties which blind people may experience, I accept that institutions could place more emphasis in their training programmes to the special problems of the blind.

The very nature of large banks' retail business tends to reinforce the employment of a mass-market approach to banking, rather than concentrating on niche markets. In the past this approach has definitely taken precedence, with strong emphasis being placed by banks on meeting the prime needs of the totality of customers, namely, speed and convenience of service.

The automated delivery of services will undoubtedly receive the major focus of the banks' attention in the coming years. Financial transactions will become less and less paper-based. I will elaborate on this issues later on.

In my view, an area which requires critical development in banking is improved knowledge of individual customers. We have to put in place what are known in the new parlance as improved Customer-Based Information Systems.

In order that banks can become more service-oriented, they need to hold and update information of individual customer's characteristics, and actual use made by him/her of bank services. Such systems should allow banks to put their sales and service commitment fully into action. The banks in Ireland, and the Irish Government, recognise that the holding of sensitive data on computer may be seen by some as more "Big Brother" type tactics. To avoid such claims, Ireland now had a Data Protection Act which allows all bank customers to see all data held about them on a bank's computer files and to have any inaccuracies corrected.

A major problem, of course, is that banks do not know how many of their clients are visually disabled or have hearing difficulties or have some other physical disability. But, on the other hand, why should they? - the banks do not discriminate against individuals because they have a physical handicap. The principal criterion applied is that an individual must be able to conduct his financial affairs in a prudent manner. Having said that, I believe the fact that a client has some disability could usefully form part of the bank's information package, which would in turn permit banks to tailor services to meet the client's requirements. Similarly, information advertising could be better organised to allow, for example, for promotional material on a range of products and services to be prepared in braille and dispatched by direct mail to visually disabled clients. The telephone marketing or tele-marketing of bank services is another form of advertising/direct personal selling which is rapidly developing, and this will continue into the future.

I do not wish to give the impression that all of this could be implemented without difficulty. But, on the assumption that solutions to possible problems here can be found, customer- based information systems do offer scope for the banks to improve service delivery to all customers and to optimise customer contact.

There are, of course, differing degrees of visual disability, and consequently it has to be recognised that it may not be possible to hold out an all-embracing set of solutions to the problems of the visually disabled and financial transactions. Apart from his/her degree of blindness, how long he/she is blind, his/her degree of mobility, financial sophistication and technological literacy have all to be built into the equation when devising solutions to current and future problems. In addition to problems of ability, we have to have regard to factors such as confidentiality, safety and security, which are in themselves considerable constraints.

It seems clear to me that there will be certain financial transactions which certain individuals with profound visual disability will be patently unable to perform, even if the delivery system is suitably adapted. This is not to say that every effort should not be made to allow the visually handicapped freedom of choice and full support to undertake financial transactions.

The visually disabled depend to a large extent, when undertaking financial transactions, on trust and rely on integrity of other parties to the transactions. The independence of the visually disabled person has to be an imperative and every encouragement should be made to develop that independence. I question, however, whether total independence is wholly practical in all financial situations. Protection of his/her interest may well be of greater importance. Any individual is capable of committing fraud, and a visually disabled person may be regarded as a more vulnerable target.

Money Matters

Turning now to money matters, my research indicated that, in Ireland, currency has not posed a major problem for the visually disabled. The National Institution for the Blind is consulted by the Central Bank of Ireland when new coins or notes are issued. Indeed, the milling of coins pays special regard to the recognition problems of the visually disabled. Over the next 5-10 years, I would envisage a reduction in the number of coin denominations in circulation, as the purchasing power of the currency reduces. Smaller denominations coins will gradually be withdrawn from circulation.

The use of credit cards is likely to expand considerably particularly in those European Countries which do not at present have large card bases. Concurrent with the growth, telephone ordering of goods and services, charged against credit cards, is becoming increasingly popular and will continue to expand. Verification of transactions is done by way of the client's credit card account number and his address. A possible solution to this problem for the blind is to have the account number printed in braille on the face of the card. Credit cards are, however, mass-produced and distributed, and this solution is not at all cost-efficient. I accept that it may not be possible for the visually disabled cardholder to memorised his 16 digit account number. It may be possible for the issuing institution to send the client a separate note of his number in braille. This has in-built security as the sighted generally cannot interpret braille.

Credit cards do offer a limited degree of security to the visually disabled in as much that a charge-back facility exists, whereby, if a cardholder queries an amount debited to his account, the credit company can charge the amount back to the retailer. This would leave fraudulent transactions and other disputes to be matter for the cardholder and the retailer. An alternative security measure would be to require that all credit card transactions involving the visually disabled would be subject to authorisation, at the time of the transaction, with the credit card issuer.

With regard to Current Account Lodgements Forms, I do not envisage these will be replaced by some other medium. The ultimate goal in Ireland is to have fully pre-encoded lodgement dockets available for use by all clients. This should reduce many of the current problems of the visually disabled, but it still leaves the problem of having the amount of the lodgement inserted on the form.

As regards Bank Statement Media, the major banks in Ireland already provide the facility of statements in braille. This service is not advertised but is available on request. Usage of the service is poor – indeed the largest Irish bank has confirmed that it sends out only 10 braille statements per month. This reflects either that the service should be advertised or the fact that there is a very small percentage of braille readers amongst the visually disabled in Ireland. (Research indicates that only 3% of the visually disabled are braille readers).

The use of Automated Cheque Writing Systems in Stores and Supermarkets is increasing in Ireland. In considering the implications of this for the visually disabled, we again revert to the question of trust and reliance on the integrity of the employees of such stores.

Home Banking

Home banking services are generally provided as an off-shoot service of home retailing networks, such as Prestel or Videotel, whereby the user acquires a terminal which links into the bank's computer via the telephone system and presents the data visually on the home TV.

The success of home banking must depend totally on consumer acceptability and consequently on usage. Lack of reliable market research to assess profitability of this service is a problem for the banks, but it is a technological development of the future which could take off, possibly on a massive scale. I shall leave it to you to decide whether it is a service which is entirely suitable for the visually disabled.

Home banking, based on voice PIN recognition, on the other hand, is a service which is rapidly catching on; it would appear, prima facie, to be less of a challenge for visually disabled persons. It should be technically feasible in systems using PIN verification for PINs in braille to be issued to the visually disabled. Memorising of PIN digits is another alternative. This assumes standardisation of PIN pad layout.

Phone-banking, which may be operated via the standard digital telephone, offers privacy and security to the blind which other payment media do not.

ATMs and EFTPOS

Automated Service Delivery through ATMS will show a major expansion in the next decade in all countries. The sharing of bank networks, thus affording reciprocity of service to each other's customers, is commonplace and will continue to happen in the future. This reciprocity is not just confined to national markets but also on a cross frontier basis. Initially ATMs functioned basically as cash dispensers, but now more and more add-on services are being provided through this technology. This trend will continue.

The use of ATM technology by the visually disabled is a major imponderable. Undoubtedly, it has been difficult for those with poor sight to take full advantage of ATM developments, but it must be remembered that these new services complement rather than replace existing "manual" services. I fully accept that certain functions of ATMs can pose difficulties even for sighted persons and technofear is a problem which will require to be overcome. This might best be achieved through customer training programmes.

It is technically feasible to adapt keyboards and overlay with braille characters and to install voice communication through synthesizers. However, major problems which must be acknowledged is that keyboards and touch-screen layouts are not standardised. This, of course, is a matter for manufacturers who tend to market their respective technologies on the basis of differences in colour graphics, layouts etc. Manufacturers might be encouraged to pursue the possibilities of greater standardisation in this area.

We must also take cognisance of the very real physical security problem attaching to the visually disabled operating ATMs, which use voice synthesizers. This is quite apart from cost considerations. I believe that, rather than looking at adaptations to ATM technology, an alternative solution would be for banks to run short training courses for the visually disabled on existing machines without adjustment. This is currently operating successfully among visually disabled bank staff in Ireland. It seems obvious that the service a visually disabled person obtains from technology should be consistent with his abilities against the constraints of confidentiality and security. Otherwise non-technological solutions must be found.

Anecdotal research tends to suggest that orientation of cards is not a significant problem as many appear to believe. Recognition becomes relatively automatic once the visually disabled person becomes familiar with the layout of the card.

In relation to those persons with partial disability, it is technically feasible to programme magnetic stripes of cards, which when activated will request a clearer definition/increased size of characters on ATMs screens. This is a development which some elderly persons would also find of considerable assistance.

I have tended to focus my discussion on Credit Cards and the wider use of such cards in the future. The next phase, I think, we shall see in global Card strategy will be much wider use of Debit Cards. These are really the precursor of EFTPOS in as much that they allow the cardholder's account to be debited direct. Debit cards broadly parallel credit cards in that they also involve some form of authorisation in the transaction.

I have already adverted in my address to the special problem of security and financial transactions by the visually disabled. Rapid strides have already been made in bio-identification techniques and it may be if these can be developed and refined for mass application, at reasonable cost many of the security problems that we face today will be substantially reduced. It does not, however, address the on-going problems of physical security.

I should now move on to say a few words about EFTPOS. As you will have seen from terminology used at this Workshop, bankers have a penchant for acronyms. EFTPOS means Electronic Funds Transfer at Point of Sale. What is EFTPOS? It is a term used to describe a payment system philosophy or more specifically a mass payment infrastructure. Its not just about terminals or a network or about debit/credit cards. I believe EFTPOS will be the electronic money transmission system of the future. Pilot experiments and indeed limited EFTPOS Schemes are currently underway in a number of countries.

The main characteristics of an EFTPOS Strategy is that it tries to achieve mass acceptance - amongst financial institutions, merchants, retailers and consumers - and mass usage. It’s really truncation at source - and by this I mean that it can eliminate the supporting paperwork attaching to payment by cheque or payment by plastic cards. It incorporates Multiple Payments Systems and money transmission architectures. Consequently an EFTPOS transaction could take several forms.

A crucial element is that it requires the full co-operation of Consumers, Financial institutions, Merchants, Retailers etc. In other words it must provide and meet their respective wants and desires. Not an easy objective to achieve, as you will appreciate that many of these needs and wants are diametrically opposed. One of EFTPOS central ingredients is that it offers a range of choice to the consumer in the payment instrument he may use to carry out a financial transaction.

An EFTPOS strategy involves decisions on a number of Technology Considerations/Perceptions e.g. Will it be signature or PIN verification? Will it be off-line or on-line? etc.

The potential impact of EFTPOS on the visually disabled therefore includes many imponderables. I this it is one topic which is best left to Group Discussion.

Future Technology - Smart Cards

Smart Cards have been around for some time, but banks in many European countries have not altogether been convinced of the merits of these cards. A number of commentators have described the smart card as a solution looking for a problem. Without getting into too many technicalities, the smart card is the same size as a credit card; it holds a single silicon chip, which combines programme and data memories, which is controlled by a microprocessor. The basic concept is that the card, when used as a payment system card, can be loaded with a store value, and this value would be reduced as the user makes purchases.

The smart card is reputed to have certain advantages over the conventional magnetic stripe card. The smart card is said to be more secure. Data is held in encrypted form in the computer, which can only be interpreted using the smart card of an authorised user. Its advocates claim it is impossible to copy. The smart card also allows authorisation of financial transactions to take place off-line. If I may return briefly to my earlier comments on EFTPOS - at the present time in EFTPOS schemes around the world there is a tendency for authorisation to take place on-line. This is very expensive because it involves significant telecommunication costs. Moreover, off-line checking of PIN with magnetic stripe cards is regarded as having certain safety limitations. You will now see the potential significance of the smart card within the overall payments systems infrastructure.

The smart card has made most progress in France, where the Government has shown considerable interest and financial participation in its development. Indeed, the French EFTPOS system is based on a smart card. No other country has reached the degree of development which is at present occurring in France. One of the main reasons for this is that France reputedly suffers the highest losses through fraud and counterfeit than any other country in the world. There is, therefore, powerful impetus to develop a secure card payment system.

As I mentioned earlier, banks have shown little enthusiasm for this type of card. They tend to regard the smart card as being in its infancy. Part of this perception stems from the cost of the card vis-à-vis magnetic stripe cards. There is also a growing feeling that smart cards with such vast memories are not appropriate as payment cards.

While experimentation with smart cards and "super" smart cards - which are in reality the basic card with keypads - will continue, there is as yet no developing trend to indicate whether such cards will be used on a global basis in financial transactions. That is not to say that the chip card does not have other important uses in other areas, e.g. medical records, access to club membership services etc. The key to its future in my view will be market demand, which must be significant enough to ensure that the card can be used economically in banking.

Concluding Remarks

We shall hear over the course of this Workshop the views of diverse interest groups on the problems of the visually disabled and potential solutions to these problems. We must recognise the implications of our recommendations from a global perspective, and in doing so we should not close our minds to non-technological solutions.

We have to balance the needs and aspirations of the visually disabled against the commercial realities of life. It is my earnest hope that realistic and cost-effective solutions will emerge from our work.

Financial Transactions By Visually Disabled Persons

J Messer, IBM, Germany

Introduction of Participants

  • Financial Systems Development, Böblingen, Germany

- banking products, operated by bank staff or in self-service (non-cash/cash)

- worldwide market

  • Self-service Product Planning

Services and Money Matters

  • Self-service Statement Printer

activated by bank card

personal identification number (PIN)

replaces mailed statements

  • Self-service Transaction Station

activated by bank card

PIN

touch-screen technology

alphanumeric keyboard

information/advertising

loan/credit information

money transfer

financial transactions by visually disabled persons home banking (examples)

  • Bildschirmtext (BTX), Germany

personal computer as home terminal

displays graphic

advertising and information

home banking

major improvement with ISDN expected

  • Minitel, France

ATM & EFTPOS

Personal Banking Machine (ATM)

activated by bank card

PIN for authorization

numeric key pad with raised dot on "5" key

audible feedback of data input

function keys

selection keys

graphic display

user guidance and functions selectable via customization image (CI)

CI can be controlled by bank card data

no standard for keyboard, function key and selection key layout

application owned by bank

Note: sample of user guidance with larger letters and fast cash transaction for visually disabled persons have been presented to a representative of the Royal National Institute for the Blind in UK last week.

  • EFTPOS

activated by card

PIN for authorization

trial installations in Germany (Berlin, Regensburg)

other European examples, e.g. France future technology

Biometric Methods instead of PIN

dynamic signature verification

voice input for authorization

finger prints

pattern of blood vessels of the eye

computer-controlled face identification possible solutions for user interface

  • Fixed Function Dispensing, Controlled Via Bank Card
  • Screen Magnification
  • Voice Output For User Guidance (IBM Screen Reader)
  • Joystick/Mouse Control With Audible Feedback Instead Of Touch screen
  • Braille-Window And Printer (for Home Banking)
  • Scanner With Text Reader Software For Data Input (for Home banking)
  • Most Banking Products Contain PC or PS/2 Based Controller

industry standard

integration of vendor (OEM) devices possible

Questions

  • Standards For Keyboard Layout?
  • Standards For User Guidance?
  • International Standard For BrailIe?
  • Funding Of Special Devices For Visually Disabled Persons?
  • Security For Poorly Sighted And Totally Blind Persons?
  • Voice Output And Braille-Window For Graphic Display?

IBM's Engagement For Disabled Persons

  • Data Processing Products

database of products for disabled persons

information centers for disabled persons

  • IBM Products For Disabled Persons

IBM programmes for disabled persons

working place for blind persons

working place for hearing and speaking impaired persons

speech therapist education aid (software)

voice communication input and keyboard emulation for mobility impaired persons

software for re-education of children with mental retardation

support of hard- and software development for disabled persons

  • Information System Education Of Disabled Persons

cooperation with partners

train-the-trainers

pilot projects

  • Workshops (factories) For Disabled Persons

IBM experiences are published

marketing support

new services and offerings

  • Research

early motion education of visually disabled children.

FinancialTransactions by Visually Disabled People

Isabel Monteiro, Hospitais da Universidade de Coimbra, Portugal

At the moment there is not any organised group working to help visually disabled people in Portugal. Therefore, I hope that after my participation in the workshop, I can organize a group to work in this field.

The percentage of visually disabled people in Portugal is almost the same as the European mean - except that we do not have much help for them.

We have learned that high technical equipment is essential; however, there is very little in some schools which are considered to be quite backward.

The development is different from one country to another. One should not only look at the present but also look to the future.

To succeed in having guidelines, a great number of items have to be carefully considered.

Finally, the principal goal to be reached within the EC should be standardization.

Financial Transactions By Visually Disabled Persons

Preben Rahtgen, Danish Payment Systems Ltd., Denmark

Danish Payment System Ltd.

  • Clearing house and ATM/EFTPOS operator for all banks and savings banks
  • Automatic pay-roll and pre-authorized direct debit and credit systems
  • Common banking services for private housholds, companies and public institutions
  • Nationwide direct debit payment card DANKORT, and VISA, EUROCARD, EUROCHEQUE
  • ATM network, 185 "face the street" installations nationwide.
  • EFTPOS terminals with PINs, real-time on-line, 9500 terminals installed

Dankort

1,500,000 cards issued

ATMs, since May 1984

  • dialogue, common to all 1000
  • fascia recognizable
  • 12.3 mio transactions 1988

EFTPOS terminals, since November 1984

  • developed from scratch
  • ergonomics, ease of use highlighted
  • positive experience and acceptance
  • 21,5 mio transactions 1988
  • 24,8 mio transactions, 9 months 1989

Danish Banks Services

Staff generally very helpful

  • Too many bank branches now
  • Automated services leaves time for better personal customer service.
  • Future makes trivial transactions automatic - self-service. Staff becomes advisers, consultants with personal customer relations.
  • No common rules for disabled persons. Is a competitive parameter.

Information advertisement

  • On statements
  • From self-service automates, e.g. interactive video with speech
  • Personal contact from "own" bank consultant.

Money Matters

  • Currency, - coins and banknotes issued by the National Bank
  • Takes disabled persons into consideration:
  • different size of Banknotes
  • different size, weight and stamping of coins
  • new lighter coins being issued
  • Checks are decreasing drastically. Is primary objective of DANKORT systems introduction
  • Signatures will decrease PIN-pads also in teller windows
  • Effort on reducing signature paying-in slips

Telephone ordering and Home Banking, identification by means of Smart Card or personal pin pad (Super Smart Card).

  • Queuing reduced
  • Multi-function Teller or Advisors desks
  • Numbering system begun in Post Offices.

Home Banking

  • All banks have both private and business services

from telephone

personal computers

  • Private service is unsuccessful

transfer service is detained due to lack of secure identification. Awaits Smart Cards etc.

  • Inquiry service, eg. balance and last 5 transactions available from either audio-voice response systems or human staff
  • PCs not widespread due to cost of service
  • Business Service increasingly popular
  • ISDN network (1993) will offer greater possibilities

5% will be connected

95% must have the possibility

videotex or combined phones will be available

ATMs

  • Future will distinguish between:

cash dispensing

automates

self-service

interactive video services

  • Dispensing automates tend to accept almost any card, becomes a public service
  • Interactive video and home banking is the individual bank’s service level towards customers. Creates a customer binding to the bank.
  • Magnetic stripe cards are "full up", only 37 characters available. Special features possible in Smart Cards.
  • Dialogue must be standard

Amount selection is a problem, but can be standardized

Different makes of ATM have different keys and features

Denmark presently lucky by only having one supplier - NCR, 3 models

  • Keyboards are often a combination:

Numeric PIN entering keypad

Function keys and their placement

Other function keys and amount selection as "touch screen"

  • Lay-out of "touch-screen" common to one country/bank:

Disabled persons need help for the first few times, but normally use the same location

  • PIN-keypad a greater problem:

Needs to be standardized!

"123" or "789" distinguishing

Point at "5" not enough

Placement of "Zero"

Recommend "European Standard" being promoted by the visually disabled

Common to consumer and professionals, today "789" on calculators, PC's, ECR's and Danish/Norwegian telephones.

"123" is of American telephone origin

Two points at "zero"?

  • EFTPOS terminals must be easily recognized
  • Card Readers:

Manual swipe readers must read both ways

Motorized readers should have an orientation marking

Cards might have an "orientation notch" in the edge. Embossing is helpful but not enough

Audible signals for accepted or not accepted reading should be available

  • Keyboard standard like ATMs:

Each key should give mechanical feedback

  • Audible signal for transaction acknowledge or rejection:

Adjustable volume - environment

Clearly distinguishable tones - not harmonic sine waves

  • Display must have:

Guidance text

Amount and info display

Dot matrix be avoided - at least of a minimum size

LCD preferred, but is not flexible. Allows for large contrast letters.

Icons may be better readable and language universal - must be defined

Viewing angle as large as possible

- LCD's still better developments

- Flourescent display often better

Financial Transactions by Visually Disabled Persons Using The IBC Network: a Step Beyond EFTPOS and Super-Smart Cards

Dr Constantine Stephanidis and Mr Gregory Chomatas, Institute of Computer Science, Foundation of Research and Technology – Hellas/Greece.

Review of present state of the art

Financial transactions using the traditional magnetic cards for shopping or taking cash from automatic teller machines (ATMs) cause a lot of problems to visually impaired persons (VIPs). Besides the difficulties that VIPs encounter in locating ATMs, the problem of using the machines themselves needs to be addressed. The absence of standardized locations for the various slots and keyboard layout, as well as the provision of information to the user only in visual form make ATMs almost inaccessible for visually impaired persons. Furthermore, blind persons that use credit cards to pay for their shopping are potentially easy targets for deception by a dishonest person.

Recent innovations in financial transactions may prove helpful in solving some of these problems. The new point-of-sale debit systems, EFTPOS, are making trips to ATMs unnecessary. The public can buy things as well as pick up cash at a store, or a fast-food restaurant. Also, with the super-smart cards, a visually disabled person is able to pay using the card itself instead of having to use an automatic teller machine keyboard that could potentially be tampered with. The super-smart card can also be used to keep information on how the user wishes the terminal to respond and what modalities the user wishes to interact with. For example, the terminal could give information using speech output for a blind user or it could display large letters on the screen for a partially sighted person.

Nevertheless, even using this new technology for financial transactions, visually disabled persons will still encounter a lot of problems. The daily trip from home to the shop is a rather heavy load for many blind people. Although they can use their smart card to pay easily, the card cannot be helpful when they come to identifying the proper location and choosing the right products. Moreover, point-of-sale systems do not necessarily use standard keyboards and information is given to the user in visual form only. Another important aspect is that EFTPOS systems, ATMs, and smart cards have been designed with specifications having been defined without considering the requirements of visually impaired users. Therefore, adaptations for VIPs are usually difficult to implement - especially for ATMs and cards that are already in use - since they are expensive, time-consuming and address a relatively small number of people.

Opportunities opened through the IBCN

Telebanking and teleshopping services to be provided by IBCN (Integrated Broadband Communication Network), the broadband multimedia network to be gradually introduced after 1995, might provide a solution to a lot of the problems addressed above.

Telebanking and teleshopping services provided by IBCN will enable visually impaired persons to transfer funds, order and pay for goods seated in front of a cheap terminal in their own home. They will no longer need to go to ATMs or shops. Privacy and security will be ensured, and they will have as much time as they need to perform their financial transactions without worrying about other people waiting in the queue. They will be able to find the product they want easily and ask for information about it just by searching and querying a database with advertisements and information about products. The most important advantage, however, is that all information will be provided in a way that the visually impaired person can understand and manipulate it. The information will be channelled from a bank or a shop to the house via the IBCN, and it will therefore be easier to convert it to an appropiate form of presentation for a VIP. This conversion will be feasible and relatively easy for the following reasons:

IBCN is intended for use by the population at large, and visually impaired people are considered to be just one of many groups accessing the facilities that IBCN will be providing. IBCN is still in the early design stage, and this makes it far easier to incorporate specifications that will enable visually impaired users to access the IBCN terminal and services than to make expensive and time-consuming adaptations afterwards - as it is now the case for ATMs or smart cards. Speech and tactile output, speech recognition and natural language interfaces, and even image recognition are examined as possible transduction techniques that will help visually impaired people to access the various IBC services - including telebanking and teleshopping.

The reduction of redundant information for visually impaired persons - visual information - is also examined in order to release capacity in the network and send additional information appropriate only for VIP users. For example, graphics representing statistical information may be replaced by a more appropriate description in an alternative modality, e.g. Audio-description.

IBCN will be a multimedia network which will facilitate the transfer of video, audio, graphics and text. Until now man-machine interaction techniques have concentrated on a single medium or at most on two media for the dialogue between the human user and the system - usually text or text and graphics. However, the vast majority of IBCN services will require multiple media.

This implies that banking information or information about products - electronic advertising - can be provided to VIPs in other, more appropriate presentation forms, e.g. audio form instead of the most commonly used visual form. The capability of transferring video and audio will also enable the advertising of products through the network, using databases with the images and descriptions of products.

Visually impaired persons will consequently be able to search for products, find product descriptions, suppliers, etc - provided in audio form - choose the products they want, and finally order and automatically pay for them without needing the assistance of a sighted person. This will be a very important development, since it will help VIPs to become more self-reliant, it will reduce the great effort that is sometimes needed and eliminate the disappointment that might sometimes be felt when they try to do some simple - for sighted persons - but very important things, such as drawing money from the bank, buying goods, etc.

Since the VIPs will use their own terminal to arrange their financial transactions instead of a public terminal, it will be easier and much more efficient to make the proper adaptations to the user terminal, in such a way that it matches the individual needs and preferences. A VIP user that prefers speech output will plug a speech synthesizer into his/her terminal, while someone else might use a tactile display, or a braille printer, or a combination of a speech synthesizer and a tactile display.

Moreover, a VIP user will have as much time as it is needed to get accustomed to operating the terminal and to conduct the required financial transactions leisurely and effectively. On the other hand, adaptations on a public terminal may potentially lead to complicated, insufficient and inconsistent solutions since the requirements of various user groups may generally be different. In some cases, these requirements may actually be mutually conflicting and therefore it may not be possible to incorporate all the necessary adaptations in a single terminal.

Conclusions

Telebanking and teleshopping to be provided by IBCN have a lot of features that are expected to facilitate financial transactions by visually disabled persons and solve some of the currently encountered problems. However, future telebanking and teleshopping services are not expected to completely solve all the problems VIPs have in performing financial transactions.

A combination of adaptations of the already existing smart cards, EFTPOS on the one hand, and the forthcoming super-smart cards and IBCN services on the other, might lead to more appropriate and cost-effective solution. However, even if all the problems VIPs encounter in carrying out their financial transactions were not to be solved very soon, it is very encouraging that engineers and service designers have started to take into account their specific user requirements by adapting existing devices and developing appropriate design specifications for new products. Therefore, one may conclude that VIPs will have more opportunities to become active members of society and lead more independent lives.

Workshop On Financial Transactions By Visually Disabled Persons

M R Sutherland NCR (Man.) Ltd, Scotland

The comments on the items in the agenda are based on experience of the Self-Service business as it relates to Financial Institutions worldwide and in the context of NCR Manufacturing Ltd, Dundee, Scotland being a supplier to these Financial Institutions. They do not necessarily indicate any intention on the part of any Institution to implement any of the suggested solutions which may be of assistance to the Visually Disabled Person.

Comments on Individual Agenda Items.

1. Services.

1.1 Automating of Services

In the context of Self-Service, the improvement of services means automating through machines, as many "Routine Teller Transactions" as it is possible and economic to the Financial Institution (FI).

While this may not show as a direct benefit to the Visually Disabled Person (VDP), the automating of these transactions gives a two-fold advantage to the FI, namely the reduction of queues in their branches and the release of their tellers to do other work.

Both of these results will be an advantage to the VDP, as a queue reduction will mean less waiting time and less confusion through the queue process; i.e. knowing when it is your turn, and where to go within the Branch to complete the Service that they require.

Also, the releasing of the Teller to do other work can mean that there are more staff available at any one time to assist VDPs as well as to offer other assistance in selling the FI Services to everyone (i.e. Loans, Insurance etc.).

1.2 Branch of the Future

The new "Branch of the Future” concept is being considered in many countries around the world, with the ultimate concept being a totally unmanned branch. Recognising that this is not the best environment for the VDP, let me add that no Financial Institution that NCR have advised has gone totally to the unmanned branch in the first instance, as I believe that they realise that none of their current customers (VDP or not) are totally ready for this environment.

Where branches are being either built from scratch as "Branches of the Future", or are being remodelled as "open plan", and thus requiring more and varied self-service terminals, the FI has recognised the need to market this new concept to all of its customers and accordingly has located Marketing Staff on the customer side of the branch during the initial period at least.

1.3 24-Hour Vestibules.

More and more around Europe and the rest of the world, FIs have established, or are establishing, 24-hour vestibules containing self-service machines, principally ATMs. These vestibules tend to have doors which are opened by a valid ATM card and they usually are controlled by video camera surveillance. Typically also they have a glass front, which makes the interior visible to passers-by. Only bona-fide cardholders can gain access. All of this improves customer safety and also eliminates the inclement weather element from ATM transactions. Unfortunately, in many societies, this is still inadequate for total personal safety as often others will permit unauthorised access to non-cardholders.

1.4 Use of Braille

During discussions some time ago with the Royal Dundee Institution for the Blind, the issue of the use of braille instructions was raised by NCR, and we were advised at that time not to assume that every VDP could read braille, and I recognise that your background information sheet confirms that that is still the case today. We were advised that a VDP has an excellent memory and we should try to ensure a consistency in the interface to the user, which a VDP could then memorise, and we have done that within the limits of our design constraints, throughout our product range in use today.

The addition of braille labels has also been considered on various locations on the fascia of the ATM, but in each case, this has not been implemented, partly because of the above statement that VDPs in general do not read braille, and partly due to the difficulties in maintaining a good braille touch surface. The problems seem to be rapid wear and casual vandalism, both of which nullify the benefits instantly.

One UK FI did produce a braille ATM assistance document in the late 70s or early 80s amounting to some 10 pages, and NCR did obtain a copy at that time. There are no statistics relating to its usefulness to users, nor am I aware whether it was continued to the present day, but it did contain instructions on how to use an ATM and included such items as a keyboard and fascia layout. The VDP could thus learn the layout at home, then go to the ATM with some prior knowledge of what to expect.

2. Money Matters.

2.1 Future Currencies

While no European Currency has yet become "machine-readable" in the sense of the Japanese currency which is magnetically encoded, I believe that this will be possible in the not too distant future, and this may open the way for some entrepreneur to invent a hand-held note reader for the VDP. In the meantime, however, the VDP must work under the same difficulties as an ATM; isn't it good to hear that modern technology has difficulties just like we mortals?

The ATM can handle all major world currencies, at least the NCR ones can, (75 currencies approximately) and any new versions of currency released by any country will be capable of being handled in the same way. To a VDP using an ATM, this means 100% certainty that they will get the amount that they requested, or in the remote chance of a machine failure, nothing at all, since the ATM will always fail safe for the benefit of both the FI and the user.

2.2 Machine-Readable.Bills.

One area that everyone, VDP or not, would like to streamline, is the payment of those bills which turn up regularly every three or four months, the utility bills. The major stumbling block today to the completely machine-readable bill is the lack of a recognised standard machine-readable code and the standard physical placement of that code on the bill. Given that these standards will be achieved, then the payment of utility bills can and will be completed through a Self-Service Machine. At present this service can be offered in a limited fashion, at the discretion of the FI, through the Deposit Feature of their ATMs, by including the bill and a cheque or other payment in the deposit envelope.

3. Home Banking

3.1 Comment

Presently I am unaware of the full concepts of Home Banking, and will listen to this section of the Workshop with great interest.

I am unable to comment in advance on this section.

4. ATMs and EFTPOS

4.1 Comment

Since my experience is ATMs, I will leave all comments on EFTPOS to others. The following statement reiterates that made at the beginning of this information.

The following comments on ATMs are based on experience of the Self-Service business as it relates to Financial Institutions worldwide, and in the context of NCR Manufacturing Ltd, Dundee, Scotland being a supplier to these Financial Institutions. These comments do not necessarily indicate any intention on the part of any Institution to implement the suggested solutions which may be of assistance to the Visually Disabled Person.

4.2 Voice Assist

The NCR family of ATMs currently incorporates a patented Voice Feature option, which enables up to 16 pre-recorded voice messages of 3.5 seconds each, to be placed into the transaction set at any suitable place. This option can assist the VDP, or any other user who requires assistance, to complete an ATM transaction.

Typical messages are:-

"Welcome to ABC Bank"

"Please insert your secret code now"

"Please enter the amount and press the ENTER Key"

"Please wait, your transaction is processing"

"Please remove your card cash and receipt"

etc.

The messages can be in any language and dialect, and can even be in several languages on one ATM, since they are originally recorded on audio cassette. However, the limit of 16 x 3.5 seconds of voice messages cannot be exceeded.

With these messages properly placed in an ATM transaction, they can be used by VDP and sighted user alike. However they are in no way limiting, as they can be bypassed at any time by operating the transaction without waiting for the message to complete.

With the co-operation of the FI, it is conceivable that a unique set of messages could be implemented in areas of high concentration of VDPs (i.e. near a Blind Institute). One FI in Canada is investigating the use of miniature headphones connecting to a jack plug on the ATM, thus preventing the message being heard by those around. This does not appear to be totally necessary, as no customer-sensitive information could ever be presented through the voice system: but, the customer is always right.

4.3 24-Hour Vestibules.

This item was reviewed under "Services", but it requires more elaboration here.

Vestibule doors can be opened by an ATM card, and thus only bona-fide cardholders should gain access. The administration of such vestibules is the responsibility of the FI, but the facilities exist through the ATMs of today to improve their customer security by means of video surveillance and alarms and telephone communication to a central point.

4.4 Cameras

ATMs can also have a camera fitted to further secure the transaction for all users. Pictures can be taken at any time, but usually this occurs at the start and end of the transaction, thus ensuring that the same person completed the transaction as started it! Normally the film is not processed until an "incident" needs to be reviewed.

4.5 Use of Braille on ATMs

This has been discussed fully under "Services" and I can only reiterate that there are no major plans that I am aware of to include braille features on any ATMs around Europe today, but the need is under constant review by the FIs, and the suppliers will react as required.

4.6 Keyboards and Fascia Layout

Keyboards

The braille issue is also relevant here, as a keyboard with braille letters or numbers would wear out very quickly since it is being used by all ATM users, VDP or not. Also it would require a skilled braille reader to decide when the keyboard was so badly worn that it could no longer be used. Thus this is not a valid option.

However, all NCR ATM Keyboards, and I am sure most other ATM supplier keyboards follow one of two layout conventions, known as Touch-Tone or Adding-Machine, and any FI only has one option on their ATMs depending on their choice at order time. The four control keys at the side of the numeric keys also follow a convention of CLEAR CANCEL ENTER in a predefined format. All of the above is relatively simple to learn, and thus the keyboard layout should not be a problem.

Perhaps the location of the keyboard might be perceived as a problem, as the NCR keyboard is flush with the shelf to prevent vandalism, and to ensure PIN security from the next person in line, who may be looking over your shoulder. This could be resolved by something like a folding overlay grid which the VDP could carry with them if necessary.

Fascia Layout

All NCR ATMs have used what is known as our Common Consumer Interface since 1979. This means, in effect, that every new model of ATM designed since that time has kept the same basic layout to the user in the street.

While it would be incorrect for me to suggest that this was solely for the convenience of VDP users, you can see I am sure, how this common layout benefits the VDP user.

There is a statement often used, and I am sure that it was coined by an NCR salesman, which says: "If you can use any NCR ATM, then you can use every NCR ATM". That, I am sure, you will find to be true, if you are an NCR ATM user.

4.7 Special Recognition

One aspect of the usage of an ATM is the need for the user to make a choice from several displayed offerings (i.e. “How much money do you require?”). The usual method is to display several choices on the screen and then ask the user to press the appropriate key opposite the required amount. This choice option creates difficulty for the VDP user, since they are generally unable to recognise the choices available to them. Even Voice Assist is not the answer at this point, as the message options are not extensive enough.

One solution which has been suggested by NCR (in fact it was originally suggested by a VDP), is to have the VDP recognised by the ATM, by means of a special unique card. Just as today in Hong Kong, the NCR ATMs can recognise that the owner of an ATM card is Chinese- or English-speaking and then display the instructions/choices in the appropriate language, so a card can be made which tells the ATM that this user is a VDP. At this point the FI must have available two different program options and must switch to the program for VDP users. On recognition of the VDP card, the program would request the PIN entry as normal, then bypass all other options and switch to a special cash-only mode.

In this mode the ATM would return the card and then dispense a fixed amount of money to the user. This amount would have been previously agreed between the two parties. To get more money, the user would then repeat the transaction for another fixed amount, up to the card limit agreed previously with the FI.

With the understanding that all VDPs have a very good memory, it would be relatively simple for to memorise the sequence of events and thus make the ATM cash service available to VDP users. It also means that by following a simplified sequence, the ATM transaction can be completed.

If I can suggest the scenario, it would be something like this.

Know in advance the layout of the front of the ATM, thus where to insert the card.

  • Insert the card...

NCR ATMs will only accept the card one way up, so no need to worry if the card is upside down or back to front, the VDP user will feel a resistance until the card is correctly orientated.

  • Insert the PIN number...

The machine will have recognised the card and will be waiting for this number, otherwise the card would have been returned to the user due to an incorrect card being used or due to a machine malfunction.

  • Place hand over card slot and wait for card to be returned...

This indicates that the money has been counted and is about to be dispensed.

  • Place hand over money exit slot and then remove card...

Removing the card indicates to the ATM that you are ready to receive your money.

  • Remove money…

Transaction complete. Take receipt if offered!

Be aware that if for any reason you do not take your money, the ATM will automatically retract it into its reject bin after a predetermined time, provided no one else has taken it meantime. You can then discuss the events with the Branch staff with a view to ensuring that your account has not been debited incorrectly. This activity is between you and the Branch manager, and the ATM takes a neutral position on this issue!

I hope that this will show a method by which a VDP can use an ATM for cash, but it would be remiss of me not to advise caution, as the ATM cannot consider your personal security and safety, except by photographing your transaction, if a camera is fitted. There is also no absolute guarantee that this type of transaction can or will be implemented by all Fis, as it does depend on the program being used, and on the FI being prepared to offer this type of service. My only comment here is that the possibility does exist.

However all seemingly simple solutions are not always greeted with enthusiasm on either side!

The above scenario was suggested to a Blind User in the USA, who had written a letter of complaint to NCR, as he could not use the new ATMs which his bank had installed.

His reply was that he was not interested in any solution which made him different from anyone else. While I admire that gentleman's independence, can I respectfully suggest that a VDP is different, in the same way that a Hong Kong Chinese is different from an.English-speaking Hong Kong resident, and surely a solution that enables both groups of society to live and work together must be worthy of consideration, and not to be rejected out of hand.

5. Future Technology

There is no doubt that the Financial Industry is moving at a fantastic pace from the perspective of the FI and the supplier alike.

The future is upon us now and it will continue to be that way for some time to come.

Of course the hidden technology is related to speed, cost of ownership to the FI and reliability which means availability to you, the user, but from the user point of view, the future means things like Smart Cards, Colour screens on ATMs, better services being offered on Self-Service.

5.1 Smart Cards

Smart Cards are not a new technology, they have been with us for several years now, and you may have heard the slogan "a solution looking for the problem", but the great Smart Card giant is awakening, and there may be something in this technology for the VDP.

5.2 EFTPOS

EFTPOS, another buzzword of some years’ vintage, has started to make its mark. This technology will be an advantage to the VDP, as, simplistically stated, you never need to write a cheque when you use EFTPOS.

5.3 Touch-Screen

Touch-screen technology is here now, and is being used as a lead-through mechanism on Marketing Terminals. This does represent a disadvantage to the VDP user, as it is heavily orientated to reading the screen and touching areas of the screen based on what you have read.

6. General Comments

NCR Manufacturing Ltd Dundee have taken advice in the past from Disabled Groups in the Scottish Area, both from the perspective of Blind users of ATMs, and also from the perspective of the Physically Handicapped (Cerebral Palsy sufferers), with a view to minimising the difficulties that these groups of people encounter when using an ATM. Unfortunately we can offer no more than that we will minimise the problem, by making the ATM as user-friendly as possible.

In the decision-making process which decides the siting of an ATM, NCR are not the final arbiters, that decision must remain with the FI; but we have ensured, for instance, that our 5070 Interior ATM can be operated from a wheelchair.

I will also be reporting back to the NCR design teams with the results of this workshop, for consideration for the future.

Bank Operation Services for the Blind

M Truquet and D Levy, Centre TOBIA, France

Bank Statements - Braille Transcription

Ten years ago TOBIA Center began to produce braille bank statements to the blind of Midi-Pyrenées and Languedoc-Roussillon, in the south of France. TOBIA is a research center and a pilot braille center which applies the software it has produced, but the braille documents are produced in few copies. So during ten years, braille bank statements were not numerous as the banks concerned were only: Banque Nationale de Paris, Crédit Agricole and Crédit Commercial de France.

These first operations allowed us to know exactly what documents were asked by the blind, and in fact we saw that short information was not sufficient, the blind people need details on the different operations they have made with the corresponding dates, which is not easy to realise with only 31 or 40 characters per line; so the use of abbreviations was necessary, but as they were different according to the bank, we were obliged to input the information with the help of a sort of menu to facilitate the work of the typist.

Our experiment was known to the French Banks Association (A.F.B) which contacted us in order to produce automatic software able to satisfy the 40 banks concerned. But to realize such a big project, it was necessary to have several contacts with the A.F.B. and the different banks. Some of them accepted to meet us in order to define a standard format of the records and abbreviations. A big bank which is not a member of the A.F.B. asked to join us during the different steps of the study, we mean "La Poste", a bank developed by the National Mail Service.

It took two years to reach a standard format accepted by the different banks. As we said previously, TOBIA is a small braille center which transcribes some novels, a local newspaper, exam subjects, different documents for the students and some bank statements, but it has not the required structures to answer the needs of numerous banks and to transcribe different newspapers for 400 blind; it is why a new braille center was created in January 1989; its name is C.T.E.B., Centre de Transcription et d'Edition en Braille - Braille Transcription and Edition Center. It is an Association created outside the University but using the same software as TOBIA. TOBIA is continuing to help the blind students and previous users.

What Sort Of Process Is Used By The Banks?

In a first step, in order to test the softwares, the different banks send the C.T.E.B. bank statements of the blind users recorded on a diskette. Every bank statement has a number on the top which allows the envelope to be matched with the corresponding address. That permits:

  • first to respect the confidentiality of the operation
  • second to send the braille documents very quickly and without any problem.

The "diskette" is the first step; the second step being the use of networks, but the banks are not using the same system of network!

Minitel Services

In addition to the Braille bank statements, the blind can use MINITEL services:

  • Consultation of the Bank account
  • Bank to Bank transfer
  • Purchase
  • Electronic mail.

For that they need to have a personal computer with a special card "KORTEX" KXTEL2 with the EDIVOX SYSTEM - 1.

Whereas bank statements are free for the blind, the use of MINITEL services is not the same, as they have to buy a personal computer and special software in order to obtain a vocal MINITEL.

Comparatively, the sighted users are lucky, as the MINITEL is given freely by the TELECOM services; we know that about 280,000 sighted persons of the Crédit Lyonnais are using that system and about 240,000 sighted persons of the Crédit Commercial de France.

The number of blind users is not known but it is small. They need a personal computer with special software which requires extra money and to be able to handle a micro computer. Those who are afraid of handling of a micro-computer can use the LECFEL -2- device produced by TELECOM. It is a vocal MINITEL using the same keyboard as the normal MINITEL. It uses special software created by a research team of TELECOM, these softwares are able to read all that appears on the screen; it is easy to use but unfortunately it is expensive. Comparatively it costs the same price as a personal computer with the software, but it does not offer the same services. So our wish is that the price of LECTEL may become less and less expensive.

Conclusion

1989 is the year where many French banks have realized that the blind need the same services as the sighted persons. A big effort is made to make the different contacts we have had with the French Banks Association. As we said 40 National Banks are interested in our project to give them braille bank statements but at the present time we cannot evaluate the number of blind who are concerned. For example, only for "La Poste", about 350 blind will receive braille bank statements!

Braille bank statements are the first services that a bank can give to its blind users. But the bank can offer them new possibilities, for example when using a credit card to recognize easily the right side of the card which is not the case at the present time.

During the meeting different future new services were mentioned to help the blind along their financial transactions, which implies that the coming years will be better, full of hope for them.

References:

1 EDIVOX composed with TELEVOX card and EDIVOX software realized by ELAN Informatique, 20, rue des frères Lumières, 31520 Ramonville St-Agne, Tel: 61.73.07.98

2 LECTEL realized by: Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Télécommunications, 46, rue Barrault - 75634 PARIS. Cedex 13, Tel: 45.81.77.77, Telecopy 45.89.79.06

Financial Transactions By Visually Disabled Persons: Comments on Agenda Items

Jos van Well, Institute for Rehabilitation Research, The Netherlands.

Services

In the near future more and more public terminals will be applied in telecommunication and banking services.

These terminals will be used for several information retrieval purposes, e.g. electronic phone book, weather and travel information, stock market news, cinema and theatre information or bank account information.

Visually Impaired Persons (VIPs) can only use these services if special conditions are fulfilled. The following aspects could be of importance:

  • Blind persons must know where the public terminals are located; this can be realised by audible signals or by a tactile tracks on the floor.
  • The terminals themselves must be accessable for the visually disabled.
  • Privacy and Security aspects must be considered.

In addition to this, attention should be paid to building layout. Simple environmental modifications can give VIPs a possibility to use doors, stairs, elevators or emergency exits in a save and efficient way.

Money Matters

It is worthwhile stating that many VIPs are able to handle cash money very well. However some currencies have a very bad design with respect to distinguishability. When new coins and bank notes are designed, e.g. ECU, attention must be paid to properties as: size, weight, relief for blind people and also colour for people with low vision.

Cheques can be filled in by VIPs with the use of a mould or template that leaves openings at the places to write the amount, date, signature etc. Attention has to be paid not to put the cheque in the mould in wrong orientation. For VIPs who are not able to use these moulds, portable printing devices that fill in the cheque automatically can be a solution.

One step further is not to use cheques at all. Devices for Electronic Funds Transfer at Point-of-sale (EFTPOS) are more and more installed in supermarkets, petrol stations or restaurants. Solutions have to be found for a number of crucial difficulties that VIPs have with these devices. How can the blind user find the slot to slide in his credit card? How does he know he has not put it in the wrong way round?

Tele-shopping with the use of a terminal or simply by telephone is very likely to increase. Advantages are obvious: no waiting at the cash desk, no need to carry heavy bags etc. However whether tele-shopping is going to be a success or not depends on a number of questions as the price of the service, the availability and range of products, good information of the available products and the time between the order and the delivery of the goods. Electronic paying of the products will be possible with the use of credit cards. It is possible to link together the ordering and paying into one transaction.

Home Banking

Several tele-services can be accessed at home via the telephone network. These services as tele-shopping, tele-booking, electronic mail or tele-banking mostly use a standard PC with a modem. So in order to use these services, the VIPs must have access to these terminals. Many "solutions" as multi-line braille output systems or speech output systems have been found for this access problem.

However, there is a more convenient way to do simple tele-communication tasks as e.g. tele-banking. By simply using a telephone set, it is possible to perform an electronic fund transfer. The user must dial into a bank computer. This computer runs a special transfer program that via speech synthesis "asks" the user to supply all the information required for the transaction. The user gives this information by simply using the telephone's key path. As the layout of this key path is standardised, no VIP will have problems with it.

For the transaction only four numbers have to be keyed in: own account number, electronic signature, destination account number and the amount of money to transfer. The computer can give simple feedback information: the user's name, the name belonging to the destination account number etc. If the dialogue between user and bank computer is simple enough, this could be a very pleasant way of Home-banking for both VIP's and non-visually handicapped persons. However, special attention has to be paid to security and privacy aspects. Therefore it would be preferable to use this phone method in conjunction with a credit card reader.

Increasing use of electronic fund transfer requires efficient bank statement media. Bank statements send by post in normal print cannot easily be read by VIPs. Special equipment is necessary, e.g. a DELTA reader, which translates normal black print into braille with a scanner, a dedicated micro-computer system and a braille output line. Electronic mail or E-mail can be a good alternative to provide the bank statement information. Advantages are that up-to-date information is available every hour of the day and by database techniques the information can be listed out in several convenient ways.

ATMs & EFTPOS

The use of Automatic Teller Machines and devices for Electronic Funds Transfer at Point-of-Sale will be part of normal life within a few years. At the moment VIPs can't use them at all. The presentation of information on a visual screen is very pleasant for the non visually handicapped but useless for the blind. Synthetic speech can be a good solution for this problem. A speaking ATM can also be useful to non-visually handicapped. Double feedback (audible and visual) will reduce the number of errors made at the machine most likely. A problem that comes with audible information is that everyone around can hear it. For privacy it would therefore be a good idea to place the ATM in a separate room.

This will also be good in relation to security. Some tactile information at the slot can be very helpful for the VIP to slide in his credit card. In my opinion a standard 12-key telephone keyboard is the most suitable input device for an ATM. If only the VIPs use the audible information, it can have a stigmatizing effect. The EFTPOS devices basically have the same access problems for VIPs, however, with such a device there is always a (helping) second person present.

Future Technology

A very tricky problem for the VIP is to find his way to public buildings. At the moment there are navigation systems for cars based on measurement of speed, time (displacement) and steering information in combination with a detailed road map in CD-ROM. In order to adapt such guiding systems to the use of blind pedestrians, several problems have to be solved; the system must be portable, how to sense displacement and direction information etc. A portable guiding system based on satellite navigation would be a break-through in this area, but those systems are not likely to be available in the next ten years.

Summary

The discussions on Financial Transactions by Visually Disabled People commenced with two keynote speeches and were then divided into five general areas: banking services, money matters, home banking, ATMs and EFTPOS and future technology.

Keynote Speeches

The first keynote speech, given by Miss Janet Silver, outlined some of the realities of visual disability and the problems which arise. The main point was that the majority of people of aged 60 or over could be classified as visually impaired. This means that the accessibility of financial services by visually impaired people is an important issue for a large and increasing proportion of the population.

The second keynote speech, by Dr Jan-Ingvar Lindström, put forward a number of questions to be addressed: The solutions should allow anyone to have full access to financial services by being able to first locate the person, document or machine, identify what service is available, and to be able to complete the transaction satisfactorily. The potential solutions range from currency with easily discriminated denominations to voice pattern recognition.

Banking Services

In future banks will become more like retail outlets with "Financial Counsellors" - people wishing to sell the customer investment packages, insurance and so on. This will lead to machines being used more and more for standard transactions: these machines need to be accessible to all customers. One method of making machines more accessible would be to have standard keyboard layouts, however, this is unlikely to happen. It is essential that the machine output maintains security and privacy.

The question of access applies throughout the institution, not just to the machines. Designers of bank decor need to be made aware that some fashions, such as the use of mirrors or carpeting up skirting boards, can make it very difficult for some customers to move through the building.

Most visually impaired people miss out on new banking services advertised through ordinary print and videos.

Money Matters

The trend is for less paperwork, more credit cards and home shopping. These still give rise to problems of accuracy and verification which make them less useful to the people for whom they have most potential benefit, i.e. people who find it difficult to get to a high street bank.

Cash and cheques will continue to be used, therefore denominations of currency need to be discriminable. Current solutions are tactile (coins or notes in different sizes, shapes or with special tactile markings), different coloured notes or machine-readable notes. Standardisation committees need to be made aware of the needs of visually impaired people.

Home Banking

The expansion of home banking services may lead to fewer access problems.

Such services have the potential to provide both speech and visual information. "Filters" for graphically produced information would be needed, so that ASCII code is available to speech synthesizers. Home banking terminals have considerable potential: they could be used for other functions, such as home shopping or storing personal data. With the European Market there are also multilingual possibilities. However, with the increase of on-line services security could be a problem, i.e. hackers breaking into the system. Services by satellite rather than telephone line might be a practical solution in the near future.

Would home terminals need to be connected to printers? Would running costs of on-line services be frightening to the public? Would telecoms and banking institutions allow price concessions for certain groups?

Is the market right for home banking? Would ISDN alter this market? These are all questions that need to be considered when assessing home banking.

Automatic Teller Machines (ATMs) and Electronic Funds Transfer at Point-of-sale (EFTPOS).

There are over 56,000 ATMs in Europe and this number is increasing. Currently visually impaired people have great problems in using these machines. Card orientation is not standard - some standard form of indicating which way a card is to be used is needed, not just for ATMs but for any machine which accepts a card. Simple dialogues ought to be standard for ATMs and the colour combinations of their displays need to be considered. Voice support is an important feature in machines which already exist, but privacy and security are problems. It would be possible to encode personal information on cards to dictate how best the information could be displayed.

It seems that signatures or Personal Identification Numbers (PINs) will continue to be used as identification for some time. Other forms of identification such as voice recognition or finger prints are not yet practical. Identifying and verifying that price and details of goods are correct on EFYPOS slips etc is a more acute problem to many visually impaired people - they have to trust the salesperson. Minimum print specifications for such slips are necessary.

Future Technology

Will "superbanks" evolve after 1992? If so, how will they affect standardization?

"Smart cards" have the potential of being electronic identification cards (amongst other functions). However, few institutions have identified a market for smart card use as yet.

It may be important to speculate how the introduction of IBC technology will affect banking?

Recommendations

The recommendations from these discussions were that some expert guidelines should be formulated to influence those involved in shaping the way financial transactions are carried out. The guidelines would serve to draw attention to how present practices can unintentionally exclude visually impaired customers and how these can be avoided in future.

It was proposed that the guidelines should be drawn up by a working group and cover the following areas:

  • Environment and Services

standardization

verification/identification

"user profile" to dictate type of display etc.

facts about the consumer - helpful decor, levels of help etc.

card applications

staff training

demonstration facilities for machine use

  • Visually Impaired Consumer Study

data and statistics

knowledge and perception of bank services

demands

  • Technical Study

near future technology

List of Participants for Conference

Ms G Butcher,

Royal National Institute for the Blind, 224 Great Portland Street, London W1N 6AA

Mr T Clarke,

Bank of Ireland Computer Centre, Cabinteely, Dublin 18, Ireland

Dr B van Eijnsbergen,

TNO Corporate Planning, PO Box 297, Juliana van Stolberglaan 148, 2501 BD The Hague, The Netherlands.

Dr P L Emiliani,

IROE-CNR, Via Panciatichi, 64, 50127 Firenze, Italy.

Prof J Engelen,

Katholiek Universiteit Leuven, Department Elektrotechniek, Kardinaal Mercierlaan 94, B-3030 Leuven Heverlee, Belgium

Mr R L Fletcher,

Operational Support Lloyds Bank plc, Blackhorse House, 78 Cannon Street, London EC4P 4LN, U.K.

Dr J M Gill,

Royal National Institute for the Blind, 224 Great Portland Street, London W1N 6AA, U.K.

Dr P Graziani,

IROE-CNR, Via Panciatichi 64, 50127 Firenze, Italy

Mr M Jacquin,

Association Valentin Haüy, 5 rue Duroc, 75007 Paris, France

Mr L Klusell,

Philips International Business Centre, Financial Industry Jaerfalla, Sweden S17 588.

Mr H Laursen,

Danish Association for the Blind, Thoravej 35, 2400 Kobenhaven NV, Denmark.

Dr J I Lindström,

Handikappeninstitutet, PO Box 303, S-161 26 Bromma, Sweden.

Mr S MacKinnon,

Irish Bankers Federation, Nassau House, Nassau Street, Dublin 2, Ireland.

DrJ Messer,

IBM Germany, Otto Liliental Strasse 38, 7030 Böblingen, West Germany.

Ms I Monteiro,

Servico de Oftalmologia, Hospitais da Universidade de Coimbra, 3000, Portugal.

Mr P Rahtgen,

Danish Payments Systems Ltd, 10 Lautrupbjerg, Dk 2750 Ballerup, Denmark.

Miss J Silver,

Moorfields Eye Hospital, City Road, London EC1V 2PD, U.K.

Dr C Stephanidis,

Foundation of Research &Technology Hellas, Institute of Computer Science, PO Box 1385, GR-71110 Iraklio, Crete, Greece.

Mr R Sutherland,

NCR (Man.) Ltd. Dundee Scotland

Mr G Tait,

Manager Self Service Products, NCR Ltd, Financial Systems Division, 206 Marylebone Road, London NW1 6LY, U.K.

Dr M Truquet,

Centre Tobia, Universite Paul Sabatier, 118 Route de Narbonne, F-31062 Toulouse Cedex, France

Mr J Van Well,

Institute for Rehabilitation Research, Zandbergsweg 111, 6432 CC Hoensbroek, The Netherlands.

Content author: library@rnib.org.uk

Last updated: 20/11/2008 11:13

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