Banks have undertaken extensive steps to transform their customer experience over the last decade in keeping with sweeping technological advancements. However, these efforts have yet to meet the needs of one key customer demographic: people with disabilities (PWDs).
In a post-pandemic world, accessibility has emerged as a critical factor for all customers, with most choosing online channels to perform their financial transactions. Our recent research found that new technologies can enable banks to become partners in the financial well-being of their customers. In the case of PWDs, banks must improve accessibility to help this underserved consumer category to enhance their financial well-being.
As of 2018, 58% of banking websites failed accessibility tests that examine websites on four principles: perceivability, operability, understandability and robustness. And a recent rise in lawsuits under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) (and resultant reputational and business risks) suggest that banks have a long way to go in addressing this matter. (See Why accessibility matters for banks, below.) Importantly, improving accessibility benefits not only PWDs but all users since banks are likely to uncover related issues affecting all customers.
This means fixing accessibility loopholes in the current offerings as well as ensuring that the objective is embodied in banks’ digital blueprints and organizational culture. While the former can be achieved by adopting latest standards such as the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG 2.1), the latter calls for a focused approach to spread awareness about accessibility among employees and to leverage the power of data and intelligent machines to uncover and fix issues.