Poor old Albert loses his touch

Technology generally makes life easier. But that’s not always the case. In 2012, the Commonwealth Bank introduced its Albert payment terminal, a touchscreen tablet lauded as transforming the customer experience. Chances are you’ve encountered Albert terminals with their smooth glass screen – more than 75,000 have been installed around the country, often at cafes and restaurants.

Albert certainly changed the payment experience for the vision-impaired – for the worse. The smooth touchscreen doesn’t have the tactile dots on keys that allow them to navigate a payment terminal.

According to Blind Citizens Australia this left “many people who are blind or vision impaired with no other option but to divulge their PIN to a third party to complete a transaction” – a breach of privacy, as well as a breach of the security agreement customers have with their bank.

In 2018, a discrimination case was launched against the bank and its Albert terminals based on the premise that the nation’s 350,000 blind and vision-impaired people should be able to use technology in the same way that everyone else can.

The case was settled in late 2018, a month after the Banking Association launched its accessibility principles for banking services. In the aftermath, CBA upgraded Albert’s software to allow easier activation of accessibility features, and made a commitment to improved merchant training.

However, while Blind Citizens says training and awareness strategies are helpful, the high levels of staff turnover in retail and hospitality raise questions about the effectiveness of extra training.