Assistive technology

Accessibility should be part of the planning process for financial institutions, especially given the trend towards increased regulations and enforcement, says Peter Ganza.

As the population ages, accessibility is an increasingly prevalent concern. The accessibility challenge has made its way to the realm of electronic communications, in particular the needs of the visually impaired when navigating websites and online documents.

It is only a matter of time before legislation will be in place to demand that websites and online documents be accessible to this ever-growing sector of the population. Most financial services firms already provide information via large-print or Braille statements on demand. This is typically done through outsourced document accessibility services. While this may be an acceptable short-term approach, it poses risks, only addresses very limited volumes, and creates additional and growing costs over time. It is evident that alternative technology solutions need to be considered.

Specialized statements can take up to an additional 48 hours to process, while tagging individual PDF files to work with assistive technologies can take up to four hours per document. This is hardly a tenable proposition for large volume producers such as financial institutions, where monthly demand for accessible documents is well into the thousands, and continues to grow.

Today, 3.3 million Americans over the age of 40 are blind or have low-vision - a number that will surpass 5 million within the next decade. In addition, over 21 million Americans have profound visual impairments that require large print documents. Given that a vast majority of these individuals have bank accounts, credit cards and savings in various investment vehicles that require monthly statements, it is essential that they have the ability to access information and/or purchase products and services.

Many use assistive technologies to access information on a computer. These range from screen readers to text-only browsers and websites to Braille printers. In order for these devices to work, documents and websites have to be built with accessibility in mind.

The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) has developed guidelines for technology products called Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG). These state that websites, software products and electronic documents should be built to work with assistive technologies.

Despite the fact that PDF is the most commonly used document format in electronic statement presentment, it has presented one of the most problematic accessibility issues. A number of organizations, such as the PDF/UA working group, have been working to address this by outlining the appropriate tagging requirements.

One of those criteria is read order. By way of explanation, information such as account numbers, overdue notices and charts can interfere with a reader's ability to clearly state the contents in an order that is useful to the consumer. Language specification is another. Tags should tie to the screen reader to allow it to revert to the appropriate language. 

Alternate text is also on the list of tagging must-haves. That means a PDF should be tagged to provide alternate text for links, logos and graphics that are useful to the user. Tables in particular require special consideration. Readers typically do not understand how to read and interpret boxes and charts. The right tagging will notify readers that information is presented in rows and columns so it can be properly delivered.

Adapting PDF tagging for accessibility is not as daunting a proposition as organizations may think. A server-based, on-demand technology approach can enable PDF migration that does not require an infrastructure overhaul or costly outsourcing. Rather than tagging finished documents, this approach allows organizations to capture data from high-volume print streams and transform it into accessible PDFs. Not only can they automate the creation of accessible PDFs without having to contract to outsourcers, financial services organizations can also gain a competitive advantage by supporting an underserved consumer segment, as well as be prepared to meet any future legislative requirements.

Accessibility should be part of the planning process for financial institutions moving forward, especially given the trend towards increased regulations and enforcement. It is important that they not be overwhelmed by the perceived complexities and challenges when addressing accessibility strategies, and delay taking action. With the right technology, financial services firms can address accessibility needs today, while addressing the demands of the future.

Peter Ganza is Director of Product Marketing at Xenos. He has over 15 years experience in the technology industry. Before Xenos, he worked at Rymatech helping to automate product management best practices. Prior to Rymatech, he held a number of strategic and product management roles at Symantec.