Texthelp Addresses Need for Digital Accessibility in Financial Services with Release of New Industry Report

WOBURN, Mass., Sept. 8, 2021 /PRNewswire/ -- Texthelp, a global leader in literacy and accessibility technology, today released a new industry report.

The report, Accessibility in Financial Services: The key to serving everyone, is a call to action for financial services companies to improve digital accessibility. Texthelp CEO, Martin McKay, along with accessibility expert Debra Ruh, CEO and Founder of Ruh Global IMPACT, authored the paper.

The U.S. finance industry serves millions of people every day. When the COVID-19 pandemic started, banking services moved online and many banks limited their hours of operation. This digital push provided convenience for most people as well as a secure way to conduct business.

Yet, digital banking and the need to go online to find important financial information can be a big problem for millions of people. For those with vision loss, language barriers, and learning disabilities, lack of digital accessibility is an issue. Great progress has been made over the past decade to improve physical accessibility in the finance industry. However, the same cannot be said for digital accessibility. It still lags and many people are being left behind.

Every financial institution is legally obligated to address accessibility. In the U.S., the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) requires businesses to make their websites accessible to people with disabilities. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) 2.1 are considered to provide an acceptable level of accessibility and are cited in many ADA rulings. Meeting these guidelines can help you make sure financial organizations are prioritizing inclusion and meeting legal obligations.

"Digital accessibility is one of the most important areas of the digital experience, opening the doors to greater understanding, greater market reach, and enhanced inclusivity," said Debra Ruh. "By not meeting these guidelines, many banks are leaving customers behind."

As part of the research that went into the report, Texthelp conducted a review of 30 of the top 50 U.S. national and community bank websites. The list of banks was based on revenue. Using its ReachDeck® product, Texthelp scanned each bank's site for readability and accessibility. One key takeaway was that none of the banks scanned met full WCAG compliance.

Beyond technical accessibility, readability was also highlighted as an issue. The review found the average reading age of a bank website to be 19 years old, or at college level. The average reading age in the U.S. is between 12 and 14 years old. This means the average visitor to these bank websites will likely find it difficult to understand their information.

"Financial services organizations need to take action. Digital accessibility must be improved to make sure all people can access financial services online," said Texthelp's McKay. "We created ReachDeck to ensure that website accessibility was within reach for all banks and consumer-facing enterprises. We want to raise awareness of the critical importance of digital accessibility, especially in financial services. Digital accessibility is achievable, but it requires a commitment."

"ReachDeck supports ongoing compliance by providing an easy-to-use tool for accessibility monitoring and maintenance. It also helps organizations to write in a way that's easier to understand. It allows them to look beyond compliance, and truly focus on their audience," added McKay.

The accessibility report includes more findings from Texthelp's bank website review. It gives an overview of digital accessibility and also explains the accessibility guidelines, why accessibility is good for business, and what financial institutions can do to achieve online inclusion.

To learn more about digital accessibility and its role in the financial services industry, download the free report.

About Texthelp
Founded in 1996, the Texthelp Group is a global technology company. On a daily basis, it helps people all over the world to understand and to be understood. For the last three decades, it has led the way in creating innovative education and workplace technology. Texthelp believes in a world where difference, disability or language are no longer barriers. It is focused on helping all people learn, understand and communicate through the use of digital literacy and accessibility software. With over 40 million users worldwide, the Texthelp suite of products includes Read&Write, EquatiO®, WriQ®, Fluency Tutor®, ReachDeck®, and SpeechStream®. These tools work alongside existing platforms such as Microsoft Office and G-suite. This allows for its products to be quickly integrated into any classroom or workplace with ease. Texthelp is backed by Five Arrows, the private equity arm of Rothschild Group. Visit www.texthelp.com for more information.

Media Contact:
Sydney Stressman
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SOURCE Texthelp