By Ainsworth 

In an effort to complement the Disabilities Act implemented by the government on Valentine’s Day 2022, the National Commercial Bank, one of the island’s leading financial institutions, on Monday commissioned the first set of Automated Banking Machines (ABMs) with audio guidance. 

The launch event took place at the NCB Northside Plaza branch located in Liguanea, St Andrew. 

The ABMs with audio guidance are primarily for the visually impaired and the blind community, who can now plug their wired earphones into the machines and perform their transactions by themselves based on voice prompts. There are now 40 NCB ABMs with audio guidance islandwide, with one located inside each NCB branch and the Jamaica Society for the Blind, which is located meters away from the bank where the launch took place. 

This initiative also comes years after NCB and other major banks closed their doors for face-to-face transactions, and have implemented requirements for their customers to do most bank transactions through Multilink ABMs islandwide. 

Among the first to test NCB’s ABM with audio guidance was Daemion McLean, chairman of the Jamaica Society for the Blind, who lost his sight at the age of 10. He had a positive review.

“This today is a game changer. I no longer have to worry on weekends, because I know where the branches are to get the access. I no longer have to worry at nights. I just no longer have to worry in general, and that speaks volumes,” McLean said. 

In an effort to bring across his points effectively to the visually abled in the room, primarily about the stress the visually impaired and blind communities go through for the withdrawal and deposit of their money, McLean said, “Most of you in here cannot relate to going to the ATM and it’s working, but you can’t use it. Most of you wouldn’t have had an experience where you are on the road on the weekend, no branch is open, you need to access an ATM, and you have to go to a total stranger to say, ‘Tell me what’s on this screen. Can you assist me with this?'”  

McLean noted that four years ago when NCB approached the Jamaica Society of the Blind about this initiative, along with consultants from overseas and during the COVID-19 pandemic, he thought it would have been a nine-day wonder, but now, the launch on Monday “represented hope. It demonstrated that somebody believed in a cause and that they will stick to the cause and see it through to the end”.

Visually impaired persons can also use other Multilink bank cards at the NCB ABMs with audio guidance, and not just NCB debit and credit cards. 

In closing, he noted that this game-changing move will also benefit the visually impaired and blind tourists who come to the island and want to withdraw their money to spend on enjoyment. 

Speaking on behalf of the financial giant, Danielle Cameron Duncan, Vice President for Payments and Digital Channels, NCB noted that the use of ABMs by the blind and visually impaired community was like second nature, while almost four per cent of Jamaicans are visually impaired and need to access their funds daily.  

“NCB would have been the very first bank to introduce ABMs in Jamaica… Today’s launch is not just about technology. It’s about trust, dignity and financial freedom. There’s so much alignment… For someone that is blind, visually impaired and is navigating literacy challenges, it is an extreme exercise and vulnerability… and relying on others for help,” Cameron Duncan said. 

“Nearly 12 per cent of adults face literacy challenges. Noting that low literacy remains a barrier for many Jamaicans with a population that is struggling with basic reading. So, this means that tens of thousands of people could not confidently access their money in the ABM until today,” she said. 

For Pearnel Charles Jnr, Minister of Labour and Social Security, he was happy that the private sector’s financial institutions took the major step to complement the government’s Disabilities Act, 2022. 

“Today, NCB is truly helping us to change what has been, perhaps, a challenging reality for many living in Jamaica… We want to highlight the Disabilities Act, and, without knowing, perhaps NCB has adhered to the Act and has done what we are asking many Jamaicans to do, which is to promote the Act. The Act simply asks Jamaicans to simply strengthen accessibility standards and to expand awareness, and to make sure that we can pull together to partner and put in place policies and programmes to have an inclusive society,” Charles Jnr said. 

He noted that from the Act, the government has also put together a Disabilities Tribunal, which means if persons with disability in Jamaica feel discriminated against, they can rely on the Tribunal to express themselves and have some form of relief.