[Nfbnet-members-list] NFB of MA and Square, Inc. to Collaborate on Accessibility Enhancements to Square Register and Square Wallet

[David Andrews]

From: "Danielsen, Chris" <CDanielsen at nfb.org>
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE





CONTACT:

Kyle Shachmut, President

National Federation of the Blind of Massachusetts
Phone: (617) 902-0632
E-mail: kshachmut at nfbma.org





NFB of MA and Square, Inc. to Collaborate on
Accessibility Enhancements to Square Register and Square Wallet



Boston, Massachusetts (July 22, 2013): <http://www.nfbmass.org/>The 
National Federation of the Blind of Massachusetts (NFB of MA), an 
affiliate of <http://www.nfb.org/>the largest nationwide organization 
of blind people in America, along with two of its members, Mika 
Pyyhkala and Lindsay Yazzolino, are working with payments company 
Square on an initiative that will enhance the accessibility of its 
Square Register and Square Wallet applications for blind users. 
Square Register allows merchants to accept credit and debit card 
payments using their mobile devices, while Square Wallet allows 
consumers to pay for goods and services at participating businesses 
with their mobile devices. Certain mobile devices, such as Apple 
iPhones and iPads, have built-in technology for the blind that speaks 
what is on the screen aloud or displays it in Braille, and allows 
blind users to control their mobile devices with gestures and 
keystrokes by nonvisual means.



Kyle Shachmut, president of the National Federation of the Blind of 
Massachusetts, said: "This agreement will enhance the experience for 
blind merchants, employees, and consumers using Square Register and 
Square Wallet. We commend Square for its commitment to ensuring that 
its innovative mobile apps can be accessed by all buyers and sellers, 
including those who are blind."



Dr. Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, 
said:  "We commend Square's leadership in recognizing the needs of 
blind merchants and consumers in the technology-dependent and 
increasingly cashless economy, and we applaud Square's cooperation 
with our Massachusetts affiliate. We believe that this technology 
will greatly enhance business and employment opportunities for blind 
people throughout the nation, and we hope that other app developers 
will follow Square's example in proactively engaging with blind 
Americans to address accessibility issues."



<http://www.trelegal.com/>Timothy Elder of the TRE Legal Practice, 
and William Hunt and Jeremy Weltman of the Cambridge firm Clark, 
Hunt, Ahern & Embry, represented the NFB of MA, Pyyhkala, and 
Yazzolino in the development of this accessibility initiative.



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