Talking ATM - Talking ATMs in The US

Talking ATMs in The US

The first public actions in the United States to achieve ATM access for the blind occurred in June 1999. On June 3, Mellon Bank and PNC Bank were sued in federal courts in Philadelphia and Pittsburgh respectively. On June 25, 1999, Wells Fargo became the first major bank in the United States to commit to installing talking ATMs. In a legal settlement with blind community leaders, the bank agreed to install a talking ATM at all of its 1,500 ATM locations in California. The company has subsequently installed talking ATMs at all ATM locations in all states. In July 1999, Citibank agreed to pilot five talking ATMs in and around San Francisco and Los Angeles. The Citibank machine represented a unique engineering and research challenge as it uses a touch screen interface and has no function keys to offer access to the blind. All Citibank locations with this kind of machine have been adapted with talking functionality.

The first talking ATM in the United States was a Diebold machine installed on October 1, 1999 in San Francisco’s City Hall by the San Francisco Federal Credit Union. Like the Royal Bank machine, it was adapted by T-Base Communications. In March 2000, Bank of America became the first financial institution to commit to installing a talking ATM at all of its ATM locations nationwide. A legal settlement called for the installation of hundreds of machines with later negotiations for a schedule for the remainder.

By 2005 there were approximately 30,000 Talking ATMs in the United States. By 2012, the number had passed 100,000.

Relevant legislation and standards

• Americans with Disabilities Act of 1990