Press release -
Post Office launches talking cash machines
The Post Office is introducing talking cash machines for blind and partially-sighted customers as part of an upgrade to its ATM network. The upgrade will take place over the next six to nine months.
The speech enabled machines will allow customers to plug earphones into the machines and be verbally guided through their transactions. They will input their PIN and select the service they require using a numeric option on the keypad.
With over 2,500 cash machines across the UK, many of which offer access to cash 24/7, the Post Office will offer easier access to blind or partially sighted customers.
The introduction of talking cash machines follows the Make Money Talk campaign by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB), making cash machines more accessible to the 360,000 people in the UK registered blind or partially sighted.
Alan Smith, Payments Director at Post Office, said: “We are always looking at how we can improve the services we offer to customers and by introducing talking cash machines will mean our ATMs are more accessible for those customers who are blind and partially sighted. The Post Office plays a very important role in communities across the UK and we are really pleased that this move will significantly increase the overall accessibility of talking ATMs.”
Fazilet Hadi, Director, Engagement, at RNIB, said: "We are delighted Post Office is rolling out talking ATMs across the UK. Making Post Office ATMs accessible to blind and partially sighted people is a significant and welcome development. For too long people with sight loss have been denied the same independent access to their money that most people take for granted."
ENDS.
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About the Post Office
The Post Office (Post Office Limited) has an unrivalled national network of over 11,500 branches across the UK, more than all the high street banks combined, and sits at the heart of communities in Northern Ireland, Scotland, Wales and England. The Post Office has made a commitment to maintaining its network of branches at its current size and reach. It provides around 170 different products and services spanning financial services including savings, insurance, loans, mortgages and credit cards; Government services; telephony; foreign currency; travel insurance and mail services.
The Post Office serves over 17 million customers a week and a third of small businesses. Some 99.7% of the total population live within three miles of a post office and over 97% live with one mile of a post office. For many rural communities, the post office is the only retail outlet. Post Offices branches remain highly valued and trusted, and are the focal point of many communities. For more information, visit http://www.postoffice.co.uk/.
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