According to the Nigerian Ophthalmological Society, 4.25 million Nigerian adults aged 40 and above are visually impaired or visually impaired. Photo: Freepik
Mobile banking applications allow customers to perform a variety of banking transactions.This app can be downloaded to your smartphone via the Play Store
People with visual impairments may find it difficult to use banking mobile apps, even though they have become more popular and have made financial transactions simpler and more convenient.
Most banks and other financial institutions now offer mobile banking options through their websites or apps, which can be downloaded from various app stores.
Users can log into their accounts through these apps, making banking more convenient and accessible, especially for tasks that do not require an in-person visit to a bank branch.
Therefore, to ensure that people who are blind, partially sighted, or have other print disabilities have access to financial services, it is essential to promote financial inclusion of these groups.
Activation process difficult for visually impaired users of the app
Mr. Jacob Agada, Chairman of the FCT Chapter of the National Association of the Blind (NAB), stressed that the process of app activation by visually impaired people is difficult due to its complexity.
“Even if you submit important information, there is no voice telling you what to do when a certain activation level is reached, so you can’t move forward.”
“We rely primarily on sachet-sized alternatives when conducting these transactions.
In a rapidly advancing digital economy like Nigeria,, We are at a disadvantage because blind people are unable to conduct transactions independently.
He said efforts to ensure financial inclusion have not yielded any concrete results because the government has not responded. ”
Ogechi Uroka, a disability rights activist who is also visually impaired, said: “The cash reader app I used can be used to see how much money is in your account.” But these days, that amount can be slow, destructive, and inaccurate. For example, you may see N200 instead of N1000.
“I heard about a new app in Israel that makes things easier for people with visual impairments. We want something like that so we don’t have to be completely dependent on others.”
Current screen readers, such as TalkBack on modern smartphones, are clearly inadequate for her in many ways.
“People don’t always need to ask for help navigating banking apps because they get tired and eventually become overburdened,” he added.
“Malicious actors may use our challenges to compromise our bank accounts or get into our private chats and emails without our permission. We need tools that make it easier to use our phones, such as compliant screen readers and cache readers.”
Attorney Gladys Ekama is having trouble using JAWS (on her computer) and the TalkBack software on her Android phone because the numbers are “not visually impaired user friendly.”
“Typically, you have to type twice to get the information you want from the Talkback app. But when it sees that the user hasn’t typed twice, it starts writing when your hand touches the screen. It’s difficult to find it. Even the alphabet is unfriendly to the visually impaired, who have to enter the numbers by tracing them.”
Lawyer Ekama further said: “It’s hard to contact customer service, so if I have any problems I have to go to the bank.” When it comes to alphabetic and numerical problems, you have to rely on others instead of dealing with them yourself. No, but this is not ideal. It really hurts. Assistance is also required when using ATMs. Let banks make it easy for us to access both their physical and mobile facilities.
“Some banking apps cannot be accessed without our assistance. In some cases, you may have to put things on the back burner to access some features of the app. “They don’t know what to click on and can’t continue the process,” she added.
Banking mobile app accessible anywhere
The Purple Banking app in the United States, the Kasikornbank app in Thailand, and the WeBank app in the People’s Republic of China all have accessibility features that provide visually impaired citizens with convenient access to banking services.
The investigation revealed that most commercial banks in Nigeria do not have an intentional or conscious policy in terms of making their services accessible to visually impaired users.
However, while commercial banks introduced “braille bank accounts” in January this year, more inclusivity is expected from other banks and other stakeholders in the financial industry.
Key features of the accessible banking mobile app
As with mobile phones, these features must be built into banking apps to ensure acceptance by visually impaired people.
- Text-to-speech and audio-to-speech: Text-to-speech allows you to read transaction details aloud, while text-to-speech allows users to dictate notes and instructions regarding a transaction.
- Voice commands and gestures: This feature allows users to perform actions such as checking account balances and transferring funds by simply speaking commands.
- High contrast and large text options: People with varying degrees of visual impairment may benefit from high-contrast interfaces and larger text sizes. Accessible mobile banking apps often have customizable settings that allow users to adjust the visual elements of the app to their liking, making it easier to read and use.
- Braille support: Banking apps that support Braille can integrate seamlessly with these devices, providing tactile feedback and improving the user experience.
call for action
The dichotomy in access to financial services has significant economic implications.
Citing World Bank estimates, the Central Bank of Nigeria recently reported that the economic exclusion of persons with disabilities costs the world annual GDP between $1.71 trillion and $2.23 trillion.
Therefore, governments, policy makers and financial institutions should work together to develop banking apps that meet the needs of all users, including those who are visually impaired or print-impaired, thereby meeting the SDG goal of leaving no one behind. It is important to act accordingly.
This is not only a comprehensiveness issue, but also a legal requirement in many countries.
Banks should therefore set up disability service counters in all branches and ensure that their staff are properly trained to assist individuals with visual impairments and various forms of disabilities.
This fundamental right should be accessible to all.
This report by Hadiza Abdulrahman is part of the requirements for participation in the 2023 Disability and Media Fellowship.Supported by the African Young Media Professionals Foundation