OK, so maybe this isn’t politically correct, but could someone please explain why, under any circumstances, it could possibly be necessary to have Braille keypads on an ATM that is located in the drive through lane of a bank?
And while I am on the subject, how does Braille on any ATM, let alone one where you have to drive to reach it, help a blind person? I mean, there are all those other questions on the screen that require additional entry, and if you can’t see to read them, how can you input the information - Braille or no Braille keypad?
I am not trying to be a smartass, I am really wondering what is the purpose of Braille keypads on ATM’s.
Not so quick. The question of how a blind person is supposed to interact with an ATM when all the prompts are on the video display still hasn’t been answered. Cecil touched on this issue in his column, but as far as I can tell, ten years on, the machines haven’t improved one whit with regard to helping a blind person navigate through the menus. (I could be wrong, though – being able-sighted, this isn’t really something I’ve paid a lot of attention to.)
I always assumed that the ATM drive-through keypads had braille on them because the ATM walk-up keypads did.
I figured the manufacturers did not want to re-tool the mold. Why go through a tremendous expense if you don’t really have too? Why make two sets of keypads if you can get away with only making one?
The braille is indeed a matter of the manufacturers not knowing where their machine will be used, and making them one-size-fits-all.
As for accessibility for the visually impaired, one of the banks I used to use had a braille guide for ATM use which indicated how to conduct a transaction solely with the brailled keypad, rather than the function keys surrounding the screen. Another bank I used to use had an option to have the ATM speak each direction to you. This didn’t seem to be a very smart concept to me, as anyone nearby would hear the machine say “You wish to withdraw $250, is this correct?” but there you have it.
My current financial institution (a credit union) advises sight-impaired patrons to indicate to one of the receptionists that they wish to have assistance in using the ATM. It’s part of their job to do so and I’ve seen it happen once, and the customer did not have to wait at all, the receptionist immediately came out to help.
That was one problem with the ATM manufactured by the company I used to work for. We used a touch sensitive screen over the display, just like the self-checkout supermarket lanes. That made it rather difficult for blind folks to use.
I regularly use an ATM machine that has a receptacle into which earphones may be plugged, causing the screen prompts to be repeated aurally. It is clearly labled, although I don’t think the label is repeated in Braille. Plus, it is a very small receptacle, located in the upper right corner and I don’t think a blind person would be able to find it. If a blind person were to be told it existed and it’s exact location, it might be helpful.
Even if a blind person needs help using an ATM, with braille keys he can enter the personal information himself. If there was no braille, the blind man might have to tell somebody else his PIN so they could enter it for him. Some potential problems there.
And sometimes, the bank’s only ATM is a drive-through, but as long as no cars are around you can still walk up and use it (even though the height can be a bit awkward).