Technology plays an ever-increasing role in our modern society and often offers many advantages. However, there are also downsides. Payment terminals, such as the machines used in shops and restaurants when paying by card, or vending machines in stations and cinemas, are often inaccessible to millions of disabled and elderly consumers in Europe. The barriers faced are many and consist among others of problems typing in the code due to the small keypad, difficulties in hearing the sounds coming from the machine in for example a busy store and difficulties in reading the small letters on the screen. The privacy of these consumers is often compromised as they need the shop assistant to help them to enter the code, leaving them more vulnerable to fraud and theft. This is a serious problem as we are rapidly heading in the direction of a cash-free society, where most payments will be made by card or even by phone apps. In a civilized world, it is not acceptable to exclude people from carrying out their payment transactions independently. There are 80 million people with disabilities and close to 100 million elderly people in Europe. If Europe wants to become a fully inclusive society, financial inclusion is key.
Design for All
The problem can be solved. Payment terminals could for example be equipped with audio output, a screen with more contrast and larger fonts and fixed places for the keys. Innovative ways of interacting with a payment terminal, for example through Bluetooth or Near Field Communication (NFC), could be part of the solution.
Design for All is about design for human diversity, social inclusion and equality. It is a concept of designing products to be aesthetic and usable by everyone to the greatest extent possible.
Pay-Able
This is why EBU is pleased to participate in Pay-Able, a platform that strives for barrier free access to payment terminals for all. The initiative, a cross-sectoral, single-issue European platform is supported by all European consumer associations. Pay-Able is under the high patronage of Mr Herman Van Rompuy, President Emeritus of the European Council.
On Wednesday 22 June 2016 MEP Ádám Kósa hosted the official launch event of Pay-Able in the European Parliament in Brussels. Mr Kósa highlighted the need for an inclusive society while drawing on his own experiences. “It is not my deafness that causes problems for me, it is society who treats it as a problem” he told the audience. As a member of the Committee on Employment and Social Affairs (EMPL) he has just been appointed rapporteur to the EAA and aims to include payment terminals in the scope. Mr Mokrane Boussaïd, Executive Director of the European Blind Union, also stressed the importance of inclusive payment terminals noting that “from a blind or partially sighted person's perspective, there are significant accessibility and security concerns when making a payment transaction via a terminal”.
Pay-Able believes that payment terminals should be designed following the principle of Design for All. This ensures that everyone, including disabled and elderly consumers, has barrier free access to payment terminals.
To Pay-Able it is clear that an accessibility standard for user-friendly payment terminals is needed for all European citizens to become Pay-Able!
European Accessibility Act
The European Commission recently published its proposal for a European Accessibility Act (EAA). Payment terminals are not included in the scope of the proposal. Pay-Able calls upon the European Commission, the Council of the European Union and the European Parliament to include payment terminals in the EAA.
It is clear that a standard for user-friendly payment terminals is needed. Standardisation will allow disabled and senior citizens to live their lives more independently. It will create a society in which we can all - diverse as we are - participate as equally and independently as possible.
Striving towards an inclusive society lacks credibility if a large group of citizens is unable to carry out payment transactions independently. European standards for accessible payment terminals are needed to remove these barriers and to create a society where each individual is Pay-Able.
Join Pay-Able!
If you are a stakeholder, technology manufacturer, or umbrella organisation and you think it is important to achieve barrier free access to payment terminals for everyone in Europe, please contact them via info@pay-able.eu for more information about membership of Pay-Able.
For latest news and details of the Pay-Able platform, visit the Pay-Able website.
EBU e-Worskhop on accessible payment terminals.
By e-workshop presenter Dennis Dondergoor, MSc,
Project Manager Accessible Payment Systems, Oogvereniging Nederland.
To strive for barrier free access to payment terminals for all, EBU has built the single-issue platform Pay-Able. The platform was officially launched on June 22, 2016 in European Parliament and gained the support from all the major European consumer organisations.
On November 17, 2016, EBU held an e-workshop on accessible payment terminals, which was moderated by EBU member organisation Oogvereniging (Eye Association Netherlands), who is leading this campaign. The workshop was attended by 20 representatives of EBU members, from 14 different countries. The workshop contained presentations with information in relation to payment terminals from different perspectives.
Participants were informed about the history and the formation of Pay-Able. Also, general requirements for accessible payment terminals were presented and discussed. These include accommodating the use by blind and partially sighted consumers by the addition of audio output, the uniformity of keypads and the transaction process. The requirements also take into account innovative payment solutions, such as mobile and contactless payments. The problems of touchscreens devices were discussed as well.
Currently, Pay-Able is lobbying European Parliament and the Council of the EU to include payment terminals in the scope of the proposal for a European Accessibility Act. At the same time, Pay-Able is setting up a dialogue with the payment terminal industry.
During the workshop, Worldline, a manufacturer of payment terminals, presented their view on payment terminals.
A report of the e-workshop, the Powerpoint presentations and an audio recording, can be downloaded at
https://www.dropbox.com/sh/sktx4xbpr12z43t/AACAfHSaWqV2q6BWLvaxYdNWa?dl=0
(please note that for confidentiality reasons, the Worldline presentation was not recorded).