The French and the bank card
The French are very attached to their bank card. This has greatly exceeded the species and has risen to the head of the most used means of payment in France. According to an OpinionWay study, it is estimated today that 94 % of store transactions are paid by card in France, a figure higher than that of Europe in its entirety, with 87 %. Contact -free payments also have an important part in this practice, since they represent more than half of card transactions.
Why the notch?
To maintain the growing trend in the use of the bank card and always offer more practicality to their customers, banks have redoubled efforts to invent cards that are always easier to use, all with an attractive and customizable design. Last modification to date: adding a notch on the side opposite to that of the chip.
It is not a manufacturing defect, nor an attempt to save plastic, nor a particularly practical functionality to remove the portfolio card (on the contrary, the hollow can make it more difficult). The notch is actually a way of helping the visually impaired to bring their card and insert it in the payment terminals or in the ticket distributors on the right side.
A way to distinguish the bank card from other cards
You have noticed: more and more cards take the same format as the bank card. Between loyalty cards, vital card, store cards, and even driving license, it can be difficult to navigate, especially for visually impaired people. The notch is therefore an easy solution to solve the problem and save time to those with a visual handicap.
These card models are not new in Europe. The former were launched in the United Kingdom by Natwest and RBS banks in 2015 in partnership with the RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People). This solution which may seem harmless has still required a lot of research: it was necessary to find a simple and effective touch solution while ensuring that the operation of distributors and payment terminals is not impacted. Instead of adding braille or reliefs that can potentially disrupt the card reading by withdrawal or payment terminals, a simple notch has been the best solution.
Mastercard and his Touch card
The payment systems giant also decided in 2022 to make its cards more accessible to the visually impaired by launching the Touch Card. The particularity of the Touch Card lies in its inclusive design available in different versions. Each type of card – credit, debit and prepaid – has separate notches on the side, allowing users to identify them with the touch. The credit cards have a rounded notch, the flow cards a square notch, while the prepaid cards are recognizable by a triangular notch. It is both a winning marketing strategy, since it strengthens the Mastercard brand image, and a real plus for customers with a visual handicap.
Industry is progressing slowly to include the visually impaired
Despite these little attentions which offer more practical experience to visually impaired people, there is still progress to be made to achieve complete accessibility of means of payment. For example, the composition of the secret code is another challenge encountered by the visually impaired, mainly with tactile payment terminals. Due to these difficulties, many choose to make their online purchases as far as possible.
Today, one of the best available solutions remains to use contactless payment or Apple Pay or Google Pay payment applications. Unfortunately, contactless is limited to a certain amount. To counter this problem, some banks offer a new generation of bank cards with a fingerprint sensor. With these cards, no need to enter code, and no amount of amount: the card authorizes payment by reading the fingerprint of its owner. It is a technology still little used, but which is available in certain banks such as BNP.
Another important problem for the visually impaired is that of not being able to visually confirm the amount of their purchases by card in store. Admittedly, there is little chance that a large supermarket will choose to scam a client with a false amount, but the situation can be complicated in small establishments or abroad. In response to this challenge, the French company Thales has developed a vocal bank card. This, linked to a dedicated mobile application, allows the user to hear the amount of his purchases from his phone and receive vocal confirmation from the transaction. This card is certified by Visa and Mastercard, and operates on all payment terminals without the need for software or hardware update.
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