[access-uk] Banks web sites

From: "Derek Hornby" <Derek.hornby_uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxxxx>
To: <access-uk@xxxxxxxxxxxxx>
Date: Wed, 9 May 2012 13:20:03 +0100
Some of you may find the following of interest.

From the Times 8 May 2012

Disabled users 'failed by bank websites
Laura Whateley 


Disabled people are being denied access to financial services because banks
are failing to make simple upgrades to their websites, according to research
by charities.

They are calling for the banks to act after tests found that people who rely
on assistive technologies to gain access to the web would find it almost
impossible to complete a number of online tasks, including opening an
account or reporting a missing card.

The Shaw Trust, Leonard Cheshire Disability and the RNIB say the results
show that banks are failing in their obligations to disabled people.

Ian Lyons, from the Shaw Trust, said: "Many companies now recognise that
they need to provide physical access for disabled customers, but few realise
that this should extend to their websites, too."

The investigation, conducted by Desktek, a website consultant, tested web
pages from 11 leading banks and building societies for 15 problems that
disabled people are likely to encounter.

These included web pages, links, pictures and forms not being labelled
correctly meaning that a person using a screen reader would get lost on the
site - and broken tabs, or "skip navigation links", which allow those who
cannot use a mouse to navigate the site.

Barclays was rated as the worst offender, failing on 35 out of 64 tests,
followed by NatWest, which failed 34, and Santander and HSBC which failed 27
each. Lloyds, Halifax, Nationwide, ING, Smile, Citibank and First Direct all
failed 18 times.

Mr Lyons added: "Banks need only invest a small amount of money, at most a
few thousand pounds, to begin to improve their websites."

About 3.4 million people in Britain have a disability such as Parkinson's or
multiple sclerosis that prevents them from easily using a standard keyboard,
screen and mouse. Many rely on adapted keyboards and voiceactivation
software to go online.

Sir Terry Pratchett, the author, uses voice-recognition software after
losing his ability to type because of Alzheimer's.

Andrea Kennedy, who conducted the research, said: "Many people who are
blind, or who have mobility problems, rely more heavily on being able to
bank online because they find it difficult to get to their local branch."

When contacted by The Times all the banks surveyed said that they placed
great value on making sure their banking services were accessible to
disabled people and closely followed international guidelines when building
and updating their websites.

Under the Equality Act 2010, companies are legally obliged to make
"reasonable adjustments" to ensure that the service they offer is as near as
possible the same as that offered to able-bodied customers.

The RNIB recently took legal action against the Bmibaby airline for failing
to make changes to its website to allow customers who rely on a screen
reader, or who cannot use a mouse, to use online booking.

A recent investigation by The Times found that banks and building societies
are routinely discriminating against millions of deaf customers by not
providing hearing-aid loops and text-relay facilities.

'I find page links are confusing

Case study

Michael Taylor,  is blind and struggles with banking. He uses a screen
reader, which describes aloud the text and images on screen. However, he
says that he often encounters errors on web pages which mean that he cannot
manage his money as well as he would like.

Headings and links that are not labelled properly leave him confused and
make something as simple as navigating back to the home page take minutes
rather than seconds.

"When I use online banking I find that I'm often not given a warning message
about the time-out policy," he said. "This causes problems if I am reading a
bank statement, as it takes longer for me to get through the information
with the screen reader software. If, say, I am re-reading my statement as
I've spotted something that is unusual I am often at risk of being logged
out without any notice."

Other problems he encounters include unlabelled links on the bank's web
pages which leave him to guess what they mean, and where they will take him.

"When trying to find my nearest branch on the website I notice that some of
the edit fields are not labelled," he added. "This means me missing
important information and not being able to subscribe to a service such as a
new account."

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[access-uk] Banks web sites

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