[Nfbnet-members-list] The Blind Will Soon Be Able to Bank with BECU Through Mobile and Online Banking

[Anderson, Karen]

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Release Date:
Wednesday, June 6, 2018
Category:
National
Chris Danielsen
Director of Public Relations
National Federation of the Blind
(410) 659-9314, extension 2330
(410) 262-1281 (Cell)
cdanielsen at nfb.org

The Blind Will Soon Be Able to Bank with BECU Through Mobile and Online Banking
National Federation of the Blind and Boeing 
Employees’ Credit Union Reach Accessibility Agreement

SEATTLE (June 6, 2018): The National Federation 
of the Blind (NFB), its Washington affiliate, and 
three blind individuals have reached an agreement with
the Boeing Employees’ Credit Union (BECU). As a 
part of this agreement, BECU will work in 
collaboration with NFB and its members to make its website and
mobile banking app fully accessible to blind customers.

The work to achieve full accessibility of the 
website is expected to be completed by March 31, 
2019. Improvements to the mobile app will begin this summer
and will be completed by May 31, 2019. BECU has 
also committed to long term policies and 
procedures (such as an employee training program) to ensure that
accessibility is maintained, and pay an 
undisclosed settlement amount without any associated admission of liability.

Blind people access websites and mobile apps with 
what is known as screen reader software, which 
speaks text aloud or outputs it to a refreshable Braille
display and will be used for BECU’s website and 
mobile app. However, websites and mobile 
applications that are not coded according to the Web Content Accessibility
Guidelines version 2.0, or other accessibility 
guidelines, do not interact well with screen 
reader technology, making it difficult or impossible for blind
users to access some or all of a website or app’s information or functions.

“Blind people must budget, keep track of our 
accounts, pay our bills, make deposits, and 
transfer funds just like everyone else,” said Mark Riccobono,
President of the National Federation of the 
Blind. “Since these functions are now 
increasingly and sometimes exclusively performed 
via web or mobile applications,
the blind must have full and equal access to 
these modern financial tools. We commend Boeing 
Employees’ Credit Union for agreeing in good faith to aggressive
steps that will ensure access to its website and 
mobile applications now and into the future. We 
particularly appreciate that BECU has agreed to the testing
of these services by blind people throughout the 
process, and we look forward to working with this 
institution to achieve the goal of equal access. We
urge other banks across the country to meet the 
same standard of access for their customers and 
invite them to work closely with us in doing so.”

###

About the National Federation of the Blind

The National Federation of the Blind (NFB), 
headquartered in Baltimore, is the oldest and 
largest nationwide organization of blind Americans. Founded in
1940, the NFB consists of affiliates, chapters, 
and divisions in the fifty states, Washington DC, 
and Puerto Rico. The NFB defends the rights of blind
people of all ages and provides information and 
support to families with blind children, older 
Americans who are losing vision, and more. We believe in
the hopes and dreams of blind people and work 
together to transform them into reality. Learn 
more about our many programs and initiatives at www.nfb.org.
©2018 All Rights Reserved - Copyright 2018 National Federation of the Blind
https://nfb.org/blind-will-soon-be-able-bank-becu-through-mobile-and-online-banking


---
This email has been checked for viruses by AVG.
https://www.avg.com