When going to a Bank ATMa person in a wheelchair faces, among other problems, the one that is furthest away from it, and therefore requires more effort to stretch and hold the card and bills.
For a person with atrophied hands, it is difficult to have enough strength to extract the cards from the ATMs and the money from the slots.
A person with visual problems faces different difficulties to carry out operations both in ATMs, for example, as well as in bank Internet pages and even in mobile applications.
These are just some of the testimonials that were released at the presentation of the study “Financial inclusion of people with disabilities, challenges and recommendations“, carried out by the National Banking and Securities Commission (CNBV) in coordination with the German Society for International Cooperation and ICT and Disability Consulting.
The document, according to the CNBVanalyzes, based on a collaborative, participatory and consultative effort, the way in which people with disabilities interact with financial services, and the barriers they face in doing so.
In this sense, the barriers in the Finance system identified in the study were the lack of: documentation and support tools in Mexican sign language and Braille writing, large print or audio, lip reading, pictograms or easy-to-read formats.
Similarly, lack of sign language interpreters for people with hearing disabilities; tactile markings; sound or speaking aids in the interfaces of ATMs, applications and in the allocation of shifts within the branches.
Also, height of ATMs and friendly windows for short people; homogeneity and prevalence of restrictions in the use of biometrics; training and sensitization of personnel, and an inclusive perspective in care processes.
Likewise, the absence of contracts and procedures in different formats that make them accessible to different forms of disability, and clarity on the contracting of additional products or services.
Recommendations to financial institutions
In this sense, the study issues a series of recommendations to institutions from four areas: to improve accessibility in the use of financial channels; the perception of the treatment received; contracting and use of product; and to increase ownership of the financial system.
“Today we are taking a first step, significant without a doubt, to the institutions of the financial sector, we ask them in the most attentive way to guarantee their rights to accessibility, equality and non-discrimination, thus we endorse our commitment not to leave no one behind or outside,” said Jesús de la Fuente, president of the CNBV.
According to figures from the National Institute of Statistics and Geography (Inegi), in Mexico there are around 7 million people with a disability or mental condition, which represents more than 5% of the country’s population.
