[40] in Software Accessibility Project email archive
Fleet boston To Install 1420 Talking ATMs
daemon@ATHENA.MIT.EDU (Kathleen Cahill)
Tue Mar 6 18:31:35 2001
Message-Id: <3.0.32.20010306183155.00b17690@po12.mit.edu>
Date: Tue, 06 Mar 2001 18:31:57 -0500
To: web-access@MIT.EDU, sw-access@MIT.EDU
From: Kathleen Cahill <kcahill@MIT.EDU>
Cc: accessu@world.std.com, barbarar@MIT.EDU, donaghey@MIT.EDU, paulp@MIT.EDU
Mime-Version: 1.0
Content-Type: text/plain; charset="us-ascii"
I thought this might be of interest to folks. Feel free to forward.
Kathy
>Return-Path: <owner-easi@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU>
>Date: Sun, 4 Mar 2001 13:57:24 -0600
>Reply-To: "* EASI: Equal Access to Software & Information"
> <EASI@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU>
>Sender: "* EASI: Equal Access to Software & Information"
> <EASI@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU>
>From: Kelly Pierce <kelly@RIPCO.COM>
>Subject: Fleet boston To Install 1420 Talking ATMs
>To: EASI@MAELSTROM.STJOHNS.EDU
>
>In a compelling presentation at the Perkins School last week, Fleet Boston
>Financial and blind leaders announced an agreement that provided access to
>1,420 talking atm's in the next two years. The agreement also provided
>for full web site accessibility by the end of the year and for documents
>in alternative formats.
>
>kelly
>
> Press release
>
>Fleet Boston to Install 1420 Talking ATMs
>
>
> BOSTON, Feb. 28, 2001 B In a major initiative to make banking services
> more accessible to millions of people who are blind or visually
> impaired, Fleet and the Boston-based Disability Law Center (DLC) today
> announced a comprehensive plan to ensure that persons with vision
> impairments, including the growing number of senior citizens, can more
> conveniently access banking services at Fleet. The plan includes
> installation of the first A talking ATMs@ in New York and New England,
> a program to enhance access to printed materials, and improved Web
> site accessibility at www.fleet.com.
>
> Marla Runyan, a runner and the first blind athlete to compete on the
> U.S. Olympic Team, and Rob Walsh, the first U.S. blind skier to win a
> gold medal in international competition, joined Fleet and other
> disability advocates in making the announcement at a news conference
> today at Perkins School for the Blind in Watertown, Mass., the first
> school for the blind in the United States. Runyan and Walsh met with
> visually impaired students and staff from the Perkins School,
> including members of the ski and track & field teams, and spoke about
> their accomplishments as blind athletes.
>
> More than 16 Fleet talking ATMs are already installed and operating in
> Massachusetts. The total of talking ATMs, which provide audio
> instructions over a headset, will increase to more than 150 throughout
> Massachusetts, New Hampshire and the metropolitan New York area by the
> end of the year. Over the next two years, Fleet will complete the
> installation of 1,420 talking ATMs throughout its Northeast retail
> service area, from Maine to Pennsylvania.
>
> Fleet worked closely with representatives of the blindness community,
> the Disability Law Center, and California disability rights lawyer
> Lainey Feingold, to develop a plan to effectively meet the needs of
> this important and underserved segment of consumers.
>
> We are very excited that Fleet has so enthusiastically demonstrated
> its commitment to improving accessibility for blind and visually
> impaired people, and we applaud their efforts,@ said Kim Charlson, a
> representative of the Bay State Council of the Blind, who has been
> actively involved in the initiative announced today. Other
> representatives present at the announcement included the National
> Federation of the Blind of Massachusetts, Sight Loss Services, and
> numerous individuals with vision impairments.
>
> With today's announcement, Fleet is taking a leadership role within
> the banking industry,@ said Disability Law Center Managing Attorney
> Stanley J. Eichner. We hope that other financial institutions follow
> in Fleet=s footsteps.@ Also working on this matter for the DLC was
> Jane K. Alper, senior attorney.
>
> Fleet is vigorously committed to meeting the diverse needs of all our
> customers and to building accessibility into the fabric of our
> organization, at virtually every point that we connect with our
> customers, whether that is at an ATM or branch, in writing or through
> the Internet,@ said Robert Hedges, senior vice president and managing
> director of Retail Distribution at Fleet. Though our ATMs have
> Braille instructions, the talking ATMs we are installing will create
> even greater access for people who cannot easily read information as
> it is currently presented on our ATMs.@
>
>
>
> Fleet Talking ATMs
>
> Fleet=s Talking ATMs will be equipped with universal audio jacks, and
> the bank will provide listening devices to persons with vision
> impairments through which they can receive private audio instructions
> for transactions typically displayed on the ATM screen for cash
> withdrawals, balance inquiries, transfers & payments and deposits.
> Fleet is upgrading existing ATMs that have been developed by leading
> ATM manufacturers NCR Corporation and Diebold Corporation. Both
> companies= ATMs will be included in the pilot phase. Both NCR and
> Diebold are actively involved in the development of ATMs that are
> voice-guided and/or use other adaptive technologies. To locate the
> nearest Fleet talking ATM, consumers may call Fleet Customer Service
> 24 hours a day at 1-800-841-4000. A complete list of talking ATM
> locations will later be available on the Fleet Web site.
>
>
> Other components of Fleet=s accessibility initiative
>
> Fleet has long been a leader in accommodating the needs of persons
> with visual impairments, and today=s announcement expands that
> commitment. In addition to installing talking ATMs, Fleet will now
> provide important financial materials including statements, brochures
> and other account information in Braille, audiocassette, and large
> print formats. The bank also is designing and generating each page of
> its website (www.fleet.com) to be accessible to persons with
> disabilities. Web design features will enable computer users who are
> blind and who use screen reader technology on their computers to
> access Fleet=s website.
>
> It is estimated that over 1 million Americans are legally blind and
> another 12 million Americans experience some form of irreversible
> visual impairment. As many as 75,000 Americans become blind each year,
> and the visually impaired category increases by 120,000. The fastest
> growing segment of this population is the elderly, who are at the
> greatest risk of developing degenerative eye disease.
>
> The Perkins School for the Blind, founded in 1829, extends its
> educational and rehabilitative expertise for the benefit of the blind,
> deaf blind and multi-handicapped worldwide in order that each
> individual may realize their potential and maintain their
> independence, no matter what age.
>
> The Disability Law Center (DLC) is responsible for Protecting and
> Advocating for the rights of Massachusetts residents with disabilities
> and dedicated to expanding opportunities for people with disabilities
> to live full and independent lives by providing legal representation
> and information about their legal rights.
>
> Fleet Boston Financial is the eighth-largest financial holding company
> in the United States. A $179 billion diversified financial services
> company, it offers a comprehensive array of innovative financial
> solutions to 20 million customers in more than 20 countries and
> territories. Among the company=s key lines of business are: retail
> banking, with over 1,200 branches and nearly 3,400 ATMs in the
> Northeast; commercial banking, including capital markets/investment
> banking and commercial finance; investment services, including
> discount brokerage; and full-service banking through more than 250
> offices in Latin America. Fleet Boston Financial is headquartered in
> Boston and listed on the New York Stock Exchange (NYSE: FBF) and the
> Boston Stock Exchange (BSE: FBF).
>
>
> Contacts:
> Alison Gibbs Stanley J. Eichner Lainey Feingold
> (617) 434-2489 (617) 723-8455 (510) 848-8125
> alison_gibbs@fleet.com
>
>
>seichner@dlc-ma.org
>
> lfeingold@california.net
> _________________________________________________________________
>
-----------------------------------------------------
Kathy Cahill
Coordinator, MIT Adaptive Tech. Lab
MIT 11-103
77 Mass. Ave.
Cambridge MA 02139
(617) 253-5111
kcahill@mit.edu
