Hong Leong Bank (HLB) has installed “talking ATMs” to aid the visually impaired members of the community. The first of its kind in the country, HLB has set up a machine in Brickfields and Pulau Tikus each, as these are areas with a large number of visually impaired individuals.

To assist the visually impaired, the ATMs are equipped with additional hardware such as a headphone jack and braille keypad. “This enables visually impaired customers to be guided by voice discreetly through their headphones or earphones,” explained HLB group operations and technology director Dominic Mascrinas. “The talking ATM also has a software component to simplify the transaction flow and provide audio confirmation of details entered before finalising the transaction.”

Besides that, the talking ATM works exactly like how a normal automated teller machine would. “It supports three languages – Malay, English and Mandarin – and provides four main transactions, which are balance inquiry, withdrawal, pin change and bank transfer,” said Mascrinas. “The terminals can also be used by a sighted person.”

Mascrinas further revealed that HLB and its partner NCR Corporation had roped in two visually impaired employees for the development of the project. “The two employees were involved in the piloting of the ATM process and their views and feedback were taken to help us fine-tune the user experience journey,” he said.

In its post on Facebook, Hong Leong Bank said that as the customers’ community bank, it aimed to provide services that are inclusive and convenient for all individuals. “We will continuously find ways to upgrade our facilities to serve our communities and make banking more accessible to all,” the post read.

(Source: The Star)

• TAGS:
• ATM
• ATMs
• Brickfields
• HLB
• Hong Leong
• Hong Leong Bank
• Pulau Tikus
• Talking ATMs
• Visually Impaired
• Visually Impaired Assistance