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Drive-up ATMs have Braille for two reasons: to protect customer privacy and to comply with federal regulations for the handicapped. While it may not be necessary for blind customers, it meets the Americans with Disabilities Act. Banks must provide it to avoid lawsuits and fines.
As numerous stand-up comedians have observed over the years, one of the least explainable developments in banking history is the addition of Braille on drive-up ATMs. Assuming the driver of the car is the same person conducting the bank transaction, one has to wonder why banks even bother putting braille letters on such a car in the first place. If a sighted driver acts as an intermediary for a blind passenger, Braille would not be necessary anyway.
There are actually a few reasons banks put Braille on drive-up ATMs. One reason is concern for customer privacy. If an ATM were programmed to “talk” to visually impaired customers electronically, malicious bystanders could eavesdrop on private information such as personal identification numbers, balances, and account numbers. The actual number of times a visually impaired customer might actually approach an ATM to conduct business may be low, but banks can’t be too careful when it comes to protecting private information.
Another reason banks put Braille on drive-up ATMs is to satisfy federal regulations regarding housing for the handicapped. Under these laws, public institutions are required to make most if not all of their services accessible to people with vision, hearing and physical impairments.
In the case of drive up ATMs, Braille can be considered almost superfluous, but it meets the letter of the Americans with Disabilities Act. Blind customers would have the ability to read the numbers on the machines, although few ATMs actually provide much assistance beyond to this. The information on the ATM monitor, for example, cannot be read by a blind customer without outside assistance.
There is every chance that a new generation of ATMs will incorporate truly useful accommodation for the blind, but for now the best any bank can do is provide Braille lettering on all their ATMs, regardless of whether a customer visually impaired person chooses to use them or not. Housing made to meet federal regulations doesn’t have to be practical, just available. Banks that don’t provide such changes to customers with disabilities can find themselves vulnerable to lawsuits and fines, so the safest solution is to provide Braille on drive-up ATMs.
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