What is the Accessibility Act and what changes in financial services?

Financial institutions without physical, cognitive and sensory barriers, digital platforms and ATMs with information and services available to everyone, simple financial language, trained and sensitized employees to guarantee real inclusive attention...

In short, guarantee that all customers, irrespective of their skills, whether they belong to a vulnerable group or if they suffer a temporary limitation, can access and use products and services independently.

This is the aim of the European Accessibility Law, in force since 28 June, and it represents a significant step forward for social inclusion, as it establishes minimum accessibility requirements for a wide range of products and services.  Progress across the European Union that promotes equal opportunities and the full participation of people with disabilities.

In this context, CaixaBank has stepped up its efforts to be more accessible. It has done so on two fronts: on the one hand, through transversal measures, which affect many areas of the company, promoting the use of simple language or ensuring that anyone can access information through a dual sensory channel and, on the other, through the implementation of specific measures that have to do with physical accessibility, the adaptation of its digital platforms or the training of its employees.

Among the most general measures, emphasises the push to use a clear and understandable language to communicate with the clients.  In this sense, CaixaBank was the first bank to adhere to the Panhispánica Network of Clear and Accessible Language promoted by the Royal Spanish Academy (RAE) that aims to promote Accessible language as a foundation of democratic values.

It has also created and distributed a 'Guide on accessible draft recommendations' to all staff, detailing how to draft the documentation so that it is understandable by most customers. It has trained all lawyers to improve clarity in drafting legal documentation and has created a specific mailbox for customers to send enquiries or suggestions on accessibility.  Double sensory channel: SVisual as a differential service

At a transversal level, the financial institution also guarantees the dual sensory channel, which means that any customer can access the information, at least, through a visual channel and an auditory channel.

 In this regard, CaixaBank has rolled out the SVisual sign language video interpretation service for people with hearing impairment throughout its branch network.

The service, which is free and can be requested with an appointment via email or through the CaixaBankNow app, guarantees that appointments in branches with people with hearing disabilities are carried out fluidly, which improves transparency, promotes the autonomy of this group and avoids possible errors due to poor interpretations.  It also enables people with hearing impairment to access more complex investment and/or financing value proposals in a clear and concise manner.

Similarly, work has been done on the compatibility of documentation with market screen readers, providing voice reading if the customer needs it; the Outlook Accessibility Complement has been centrally activated for all employees and a customer service protocol has been created in Contact Center to ensure the ability to attend to all customers through at least two channels, the auditory and visual.

Physical accessibility

CaixaBank also works to ensure physical accessibility in corporate offices and buildings through the promotion of physical offices accessible to people with reduced mobility and other physical and sensory disabilities through signage adapted to braille.  The new mobile branches, which guarantee financial inclusion in small rural towns, also feature elevated platforms.

Similarly, the bank has adapted remote self-service channels such as websites, apps and ATMs.  The website complies with the recommended international standard: clear and predictable browsing, the possibility of increasing the size of text and subtitles for multimedia content.

The ATMs, meanwhile, offer the possibility of increasing the size of the letters, activating a high contrast or activating speech by voice.  The new ATMs, installed this year, are already adapted to the new regulations in their hardware field, i.e. they are installed at the adapted height.  And with regard to the software, which you can see on the screen, they are gradually adapting to the new law, starting with the most commonly used operation, which is withdrawal with your own card, i.e. withdrawing cash.

Similarly, CaixaBank works the accessibility from the root and it has incorporated it in the flows of creation and contracting of products and services with the design of accessible way from the beginning and, also, it has promoted the training for employees and the awareness-raising of the staff that is in charge of the attention to clients via the collaboration with social entities specialised in different types of disability.