Westpac Will Issue Accessible Cards For Those Who Are Blind

Westpac is putting out a set of new card designs to help customers who are blind or have low vision pay for things more easily.

The credit, debit, and pre-paid cards will have new features to make them easier to use. For example, they will have different notches along the short edge so that customers can tell their cards apart just by touching them.

With Mastercard’s Touch Card feature, the cuts, which are square for credit cards, round for debit cards, and triangular for pre-paid cards, help customers identify the card and hold it in the right way when making payments or using an ATM.

The cards will also have a braille marker, which will give blind or low-vision users another way to feel the difference between credit, debit, and prepaid cards.

Westpac chief brand and marketing officer, Annabel Fribence, says:

“The features of the new cards are a simple but innovative step forward that will make a big difference in the day-to-day lives of many blind or low vision Australians.

Our strategy is to continue to develop products and services that are accessible to all customers. This builds on a range of initiatives we already have in place such as accessibility mode on all our EFTPOS Now terminals, online applications that meet accessibility requirements and accessible digital card functionality when customers use voice-over and talk back.”