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Talking ATM Issues

The entries on this site are organized by category and by date. You are in the Talking ATM Issues category. Content is posted within each category in chronological order, with the most recent entries first. For a complete list of categories and sub-categories on this site, visit the categories page. You may also find content by using the search feature or the site map. Consult the archives for content organized by date and title.

Talking ATM History: Litigation Plays a Role

Structured Negotiations were not the only legal strategy used by blind advocates interested in expanding Talking ATM installations in the United States. In this post you can read about successful Talking ATM litigation that increased the numbers of Talking ATMs in the United States. Litigation also played another role in the history of Talking ATMs. On at least two occasions, the blind community was forced to object to class action settlements that did not fairly address the issue of accessible ATMs. Read about objections to class action settlements that threatened Talking ATM advocacy.


Talking ATMs: Early History in California and Beyond

Bank of America headset jack and sign (See image description 1 at bottom of entry) October 1, 2009 marks the 10th anniversary of the first Talking ATM installed in the United States. From that first accessible ATM in 1999, there are now tens of thousands of Talking ATMs around the world. In this post, the first of several Talking ATM posts over the next two months, you can read about early Talking ATM history.


Blind Advocates in Islamabad, Pakistan Demand ATM Access

In October, 1999, the first Talking ATM was installed in the United States. Ten years later, advocates around the world continue to push for equal and confidential access to financial information and technology. The following article appeared on August 6, 2009 in The International News, published in Islamabad, Pakistan. It is about a protest organized by blind activists in that city to protest banks’ refusal to issue ATM cards to blind consumers.


Share Your Talking ATM Experience

Bank of America headset jack and sign
October 1, 2009 marks the tenth anniversary of the first Talking ATM installed in the United States. As a result of a wide range of advocacy efforts across the country, we estimate that there are now more than 100,000 Talking ATMs in the U.S., with thousands of others across the globe. In this post you can find information about how to share your Talking ATM experiences. There is also information on Talking ATM resources.


Bank of America Final National Agreement

The Settlement Agreement below is the third agreement that Bank of America negotiated with the California Council of the Blind and individual members of the blind community using the process of Structured Negotiations. This final agreement contains the bank’s commitment that 100% of its ATM locations will have at least one Talking ATM. As of early 2008, the bank is on the road towards far exceeding this goal, with over 11,000 Talking ATMs, and multiple Talking ATMs at many locations.


Access World Talking ATM Article

This article Lainey wrote about Talking ATMs was published in January, 2003 in AccessWorld(R), a publication of the American Foundation for the Blind (AFB). Part 2 of this Article, titled “You Can Bank on It, Part 2: Advocacy, Outreach, and Legal Authority for Talking ATMs,” can be found in the March, 2003 issue of Access World.


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