NEWS RELEASE
Accessible ATMs for the disabled no longer a distant reality
NCR Corporation and Diebold, showcase accessible ATMs that enable the visually challenged to do banking transaction with ease at the Xavier’s Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged (XRCVC)
August 12, 2009
MUMBAI, India — NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR), and Diebold (NYSE: DBD) today showcased their latest ATMs that enables the disabled to do banking with ease at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. The Xavier’s Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged (XRCVC), a support and advocacy unit within the St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai, has worked closely with the banking sector and has interfaced actively with two of the largest ATM manufacturers in India – NCR Corporation and Diebold India to make ATMs accessible for the disabledpeople.
Both organizations are now ready for testing the ATMs at the XRCVC. These test results will be finally used for feedback purposes and up scaling into final deployment.
Key Features of these Accessible ATM’s include:
§ Audio startups and guide of menu’s
§ Voice output for transaction
§ Tactile cues for the buttons
§ Colour contrast and font sizes accessible for low vision users
§ Cubicle and ATM size accessible for a wheelchair users
Sharing his views, Dr. Sam Taraporevala, Director XRCVC said: “It is a well known fact that ATMs today have increased convenience banking for the able body customers. For the same effect to take place involving disabled people, ATMs will need to scale to meet accessibility standards. The ATM industry, as well as banking industry all over the world, has made accessibility an inherent part of its production and deployment. It is time that the international leading players in the ATM industry extend their experience to meet the Indian Banking Industry’s recognition to provide accessible banking services for the persons with disabilities. We are happy that Diebold and NCR have taken this initiative.”
Sharing his views, Pradeep Sen, Managing Director for NCR in India said, “NCR is committed to investing in innovative self-service technologies that would change the way people connect, interact and transact with businesses. We are happy to showcase this ATM with features that would make banking easier for the visually challenged, thereby, reinforcing our commitment of making ATMs accessible to all types of consumers. NCR continues to work closely with industry regulators and the banking fraternity to introduce self-service solutions that are easy to use and most relevant in meeting both social and economic objectives. As a part of our standard offering, all NCR ATMs meet the ADA guidelines ensuring ‘Access For All’.”
Talking about the collaboration, Naresh Hosangady, Managing Director, Diebold India said “Diebold has been providing innovative solutions to the Indian ATM industry and we will continue to introduce newer technologies and solutions for the Indian banking industry. We are delighted to be associated with XRCVC to extend technological benefits for the‘Specially Abled’. Diebold machines comply with the ADA standards, are ergonomically designed for the visually challenged, and have the capability of both touch screen and Braille enabled function keys for enhanced user experience. For personalized voice guidance, the machines are equipped with a head phone jack and volume control features. To enhance security, the machines have the capability of an integrated digital video recorder. We are proud to offer ATMs for the specially abled and are looking at deployments across India as per banks requirements.”
Access to financial services has become a key criterion to independent living in the rapidly globalising world. In the last couple of years people with disabilities in India have seen forward looking legislations at the central government level and the banking industry in their favour.
The Reserve Bank of India through its circulars in June 2008 - ‘Banking Facilities for the Visually Challenged’ and the circular on 13th April 2009- ‘Need for Bank Branches/ATMs to be made accessible to persons with disabilities’ has made its commitment to the disable population of India for financial accessibility.
According the to the Global ATM Market & Forecasts 2013 report published by Retail Banking Research (RBR), the penetration of ATMs in India is pretty low compared to other developing countries in Asia.
For instance in 2007 (According to RBR), India had 34765 ATMs with 31 ATMs per million while China had 130000 ATMs with 98 ATMs per million. Similarly, Singapore had 1906 ATMs with 419 ATMs per million, Philippines had 7513 ATMs with 82 ATMs per million and Indonesia had 19607 ATMs with 84 ATMs per million.
The RBR ATM Report forecasts that by 2013 the number of installations in India would have reached 1, 00,000 an increase of almost 200% on the figure of 2007 which was at 34,765 ATMs
About XRCVC
The Xavier’s Resource Centre for the Visually Challenged (XRCVC) is a state of the art support centre, aiming to work towards the holistic development of visually challenged persons. It is located at St. Xavier’s College, Mumbai. XRCVC works towards creating an enabling environment to facilitate the development of an inclusive society both at the micro as well as the macro levels thereby providing equal opportunities for holistic growth for the visually challenged. Towards this end, the XRCVC has launched project access which aims at promoting financial access for the visually challenged. For more details, visit our website at www.xrcvc.org
About Diebold Incorporated
Diebold, Incorporated (NYSE: DBD) is a global leader in providing integrated self-service delivery and security systems and services. Diebold India is a wholly owned subsidiary of Diebold, Incorporated and is headquartered in Mumbai, India, with an infrastructure supporting more than 780 locations across the country. Diebold is a leader in managed services for ATMs in India and provides services 24 hours a day, seven days a week to more than 15,000+ ATMs in the country. Diebold employs more than 17,000 associates with representation in nearly 90 countries worldwide and is headquartered in Canton, Ohio, USA. For more information, visit the company's Web site at www.diebold.com, or visitwww.diebold.com/150 to learn more about Diebold's 150-year history.
About NCR Corporation
NCR Corporation (NYSE: NCR) is a global technology company leading how the world connects, interacts and transacts with business. NCR’s assisted- and self-service solutions and comprehensive support services address the needs of retail, financial, travel, healthcare, hospitality, entertainment, gaming and public sector organizations in more than 100 countries. NCR (www.ncr.com) is headquartered in Duluth, Georgia.
NCR is a trademark of NCR Corporation in the United States and other countries.
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For further information please feel free to contact us at
Dr Sam Taraporevala
Director, XRCVC,
St. Xavier’s College,
5, Mahapalika Marg, Mumbai – 400 001
Contact Nos: 022-22623298 / 22626329
Email: sam@xrcvc.org
