How we came across
talking A T M's in Taranaki
When out and
about in Stratford, shopping of course, we stopped at
the Westpac bank to get some money out. It was due to a
blind lady wanting to stop there, that we stopped. Not
being a Westpac customer I perhaps wouldn't have necessarily
used it otherwise. My wife Narelle (who is sighted) noticed a plughole where a set of
headphones could go; so then we wondered if it actually
spoke (as I have heard of voice enabled ATM's, but not used one
before). Up until this stage, none of us were aware that we had
any in Stratford - let alone Taranaki! Enquiring inside the bank
to see if it was audio enabled, gave us no results - as
the staff didn't even know if it was or not!
The next day, we got our hands on a pair of earphones (with a
3.5 mm plug on it), then went back to the Westpac ATM. Narelle
gave us a general description of the layout of the
machine. We plugged in
the headphones and then it started talking. To my
surprise, it gave me the layout of the keyboard, through to
where the card went in, receipts came out, and of course where
your money came out. What a find! Much to our surprise, this
meant we could at least use it, even if I was a TSB customer -
it at least gave me access to my main account. After this,
we went back into the Stratford Westpac on the Monday and told
the staff that the machine was in fact a voice enabled machine,
and that with a set of headphones, it became accessible. This is something that none of the staff seemed to be
aware of. I asked if they had been trained to use the
machines with audible cues, and none of them knew anything about
it. I believe there had been no formal staff training on how to
use it, nor how to show a blind customer how to use it. If the
staff did not know how to use the talking ATM functions, then
they couldn't train us (or their other blind customers) how to
use it either.
While up town, we also wanted to test out the other local ATM's and see which
ones (if any) other than Westpac, were actually accessible. To
our surprise, there was actually a second one in Stratford - at
the ANZ bank. It spoke as well. There were two other
banks in town that looked as though they had the headphone jack,
but were not voice enabled; and two that we couldn't even use at
all (actually making it four of them that were
inaccessible). Maybe at a later date those other two might
be done? Who knows what the
future holds?
I have heard from some people that ASB bank may have done a few
of their machines as well? I have no ASB here in town to
test it with. Please check with your bank to see if your ATM
might be voice enabled.
Here
is a brief description of what you may hear if it is voice
enabled: (using a Westpac ATM):
When you plug your headphones into the jack, it will
automatically start talking to you. It will give you a
description of the keypad, the numbers 1 to 9, where the clear
button is (off to the side of 3), cancel (off to the side of the
6) and the enter key (off to the side of the 9). It will also
tell you the placement of where to get your receipts out
from (the top), where your card goes in (and which way it should
go in), where the headphones are plugged in, and how to adjust
the volume for it. Last but not least - it also tells you where
your money comes out. Once we were happy with the layout, and
where things were, in went the card. It gave me options.
It asked for the pin, and once entered, it then gave me more
options (1 for withdraw, or 2 for a balance). Just by
following the audible directions, I was able to get an account
balance and withdraw cash, along with a receipt. This means that
now our friend does not have to go into the branch if she
chooses not to. It also means that she has access on weekends to
balances as well. With some things there are obviously times you
will need to go into the branch for assistance, but for balances
and withdrawals, these talking ATM's are great!
Just remember, if an ATM is voice enabled, it will begin
speaking as soon as you put in your headset. Various banks may
have different layouts. There may be talking ATM's in your local
area that bank staff are not aware of, but remember there may
also not be any in your immediate area at this present time. Please consult your local bank or
building society branch for further information and
assistance. Please also remember to take along a set of 3.5mm plug
earphones so you can test these out and find out if you
have any in your area!