The digital world continues to evolve around us, and as such, many daily tasks, including financial services, are being increasingly performed using websites or other digital platforms. While this reality offers a number of advantages for the average consumer, it also presents significant challenges in ensuring equal access to products and services offered online for individuals with disabilities. From vision or hearing impairments to seizure disorders and reading comprehension speed, all customers should be adequately served by a company’s online content. To address these concerns, banks should strive to be in compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). This article highlights the importance of ADA compliance for bank websites, the benefits it offers and the steps that banks can take to ensure accessibility for customers.
The Americans with Disabilities Act is a landmark civil rights law, enacted in 1990 to provide protections for individuals with disabilities. It prohibits discrimination in various aspects of life and requires reasonable accommodations to be made to ensure equal access to services and information contained online. With the increasing ubiquity of services on the internet, it stands to reason that individuals with disabilities must be provided equitable treatment on websites and mobile apps. This includes the ability to check account balances, pay bills and contact financial institutions through all avenues made available.
The Department of Justice (DOJ) has not provided specific guidance on ADA compliance for financial institution websites at this time, and the resulting ambiguity creates a challenging environment for even the most thoughtful web developers. In 2019, the Supreme Court decided against hearing an appeal regarding website accessibility, leaving the Ninth Circuit’s ruling that ADA requirements are applicable to digital platforms in place.
While the Department of Justice has not issued final rules on web content accessibility that apply to private entities, such as banks, banks can benefit from the inclusivity generated by providing an accessible website, in addition to lowering the risk of potential lawsuits. Creating an online space that is usable by a wider swath of the population inherently increases a bank’s potential customer pool. Many accessibility practices, such as descriptive image text, can also boost a website’s search engine optimization (SEO), improving the site’s visibility in search results. Every user’s experience is improved with functions like text-to-speech, closed captioning, and keyboard navigation, not just those users with disabilities. With a commitment to inclusivity, banks reflect a dedication to social responsibility, ultimately culminating in a more positive brand image and more long-lasting customer loyalty.
Practical steps for ADA compliance can include conducting an accessibility audit, designing websites and mobile apps with accessibility in mind and fostering awareness of accessibility issues throughout the institution. An accessibility audit will identify existing issues and areas that may benefit from improvement. This is typically performed with software that can test the website content with automated tools. The software can test a website’s code to ensure compatibility with accessible technology like screen readers or translation programs.
Some items may be more easily identified manually. Flashing images, too-small text or videos that lack closed-captioning are some common and easily remedied issues. Banks should look at items such as alternative text to describe the content of images to a user with visual impairment. Website layout, colors, fonts and navigation elements should also be user-friendly for all those visiting a bank’s website.
Ensuring ADA compliance for banks is not only a risk-mitigation technique for avoiding discrimination lawsuits but also a fundamental step toward creating an inclusive digital landscape for all users. By providing equal access to financial services and information, banks not only expand their potential customer base but also enhance their reputation as responsible community leaders.
