State Bank of India plans to modify up to 7,000 ATMs so blind customers can use them, an official with the alternate channels department at the Mumbai-based bank tells PaymentsSource.
The bank deploys at least 10,000 ATMs, officials from the financial institution say. The bank is in the midst of an ATM buying spree, with officials there viewing the machines as keys to retaining and acquiring customers. According to the official, who requested anonymity, the bank also plans to deploy software that will enable blind customers to initiate online-banking transactions.
The bank is talking with NCR Corp. and Diebold Inc. about the possibility of them making ATMs usable for blind customers, the official says. The official gave no schedule for the effort but says the bank hopes to settle on a plan by mid-February.
The Reserve Bank of India, the country’s central bank, has called on financial institutions to make branches and ATMs more accessible for disabled customers, a directive that is helping to drive the ATM effort, the State Bank of India official says.
“The [directive] made it clear that banks had to make at least one-third of new ATMs installed as talking ATMs with Braille keypads,” the spokesperson says. “Further, the central bank advised [that] such ATMs [should] be placed in a manner to ensure that at least one is available in each locality.”
The initiative will result in issuing special debit cards to the blind, the official adds. The bank did not have data noting how many of its customers are blind.
