Approaching a register to pay for a morning coffee, for many people feels routine. The transaction likely takes no more than a few seconds: reach into your wallet, pull out a debit or credit card and pay. Done.
But for customers who are visually
impaired, the process of paying can be more difficult.
Credit, debit and prepaid cards - all bank
cards feel the same and cause confusion for people who rely on touch to discern
differences.
One major financial institution is
hoping that freshly designed bank cards, made especially for blind and
sight-impaired customers, will make life easier.
Mastercard will distribute its new Touch
Card — a bank card that has notches cut into the sides to help locate the right
card by touch alone — to U.S. customers next year.
"The
Touch Card will provide a greater sense of security, inclusivity and
independence to the 2.2 billion people around the world with visual
impairments," Raja Rajamannar, chief marketing and communications officer,
said in a statement. "For the visually impaired, identifying their payment
cards is a real struggle. This tactile solution allows consumers to correctly
orient the card and know which payment card they are using."
Credit cards will have a round notch;
debit cards, a broad, square notch; and prepaid cards will have a triangular
notch, the company said.
Virginia
Jacko, who is blind and president and chief executive of Miami Lighthouse for
the Blind and Visually Impaired Inc.,
says this feature also addresses an important safety concern for people
with vision problems since
they will no longer have to ask strangers for help identifying
which card they need to use.
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Article from NPR (edited)
