The federal agency responsible for developing technical accessibility standards is seeking public comment on accessibility requirements for self-service kiosks. The U.S. Access Board on Sept. 21 issued an advance notice of proposed rulemaking for Fixed Self-Service Transaction Machines, including electronic self-service kiosks. Specifically, the board intends to propose provisions for self-service kiosks based on both the ATM and fare machine technical requirements and Section 508 accessibility standards for federal agencies. The advanced notice requests public input on nine specific questions, including whether updates to ATM accessibility requirements are needed.
Once these accessibility standards are finalized by the Access Board, the standards will be adopted by the U.S. Department of Justice and added to the Title III regulations for the Americans with Disabilities Act. Since it is unlikely that the DOJ will change the technical accessibility standards once they are issued by the Access Board, it is important that banks—including those currently using self-service kiosks and those considering employing them in the future—submit comments, which are due Nov. 21.
The American Bankers Association will create a working group to assist with developing industry comments in response to the proposed rulemaking.
