Despite instructions from the Reserve Bank of India that all banks should have one third of their ATMs with Braille keypads and audio aid, there are just four such machines in the city for the visually impaired

Using ATMs in the city is a task for the visually impaired, as most banks do not have Braille and talking machines, despite instructions from the RBI to make changes. It has been two years since Veena Kumari (35), has been requesting a bank for a debit card. The bank refuses to give her one claiming that she would not be able to recognise the PIN number on the card, and would require assistance to conduct transactions.u00a0


Awesome Twosome: HDFC and ICICI bank respectively have two
ATMs each to cater to the visually impaired. Representation pic

"The bank says that if I am given a card, it will be misused because the PIN is not in Braille. There are no ATM centres here with braille keypads and audio systems. What is the use of a card then?" questioned Kumari. P K Paul, founder of Indian Disabled League Foundation, a NGO, said that according to 2001 census, there are 4.5 lakh visually impaired in Karnataka and almost around 1 lakh in Bangalore. He added that debit cards are a necessity these days and insisted that customised ATMs should be installed at the earliest.

It's a must
To ensure safe banking for visually impaired, the RBI, in 2008, had issued an order that all commercialised, nationalised and state banks should have one third of their ATMs with Braille keypads and audio aid. An official from the RBI said that the regulation was reinforced in January 2011 and the RBI hopes that all banks would install such machines by the end of the year.

Coming soon
State Bank Mysore (SBM) has around 731 ATMs across the country, but none are customised to cater to the visually impaired. Canara Bank confirmed that there were no such ATMs in the city to cater to this section. However, HDFC bank and ICICI bank said that they have two such machines each.

"We are developing a software, but I am not sure when it will be put to use," said P M Yamuna, deputy manager, SBM. An official from SBI however, informed that such ATMs would be soon set up across the country. He added that users would be given special cards, called Drishti Cards, on which the first three numbers would be in Braille and would be recognised by the machine the moment the card is inserted.

NCR and Diebold India are the two companies that would be providing banks with these machines. "It is true that RBI has mandated implementation. Companies are developing the software but the change won't happen overnight," said the official.

1 lakh Approximate number of visually impaired in the city