The French and the bank card
The French are very attached to their bank card. This has largely surpassed cash and has risen to the top of the most used means of payment in France. According to an OpinionWay study, it is estimated today that 94% of in-store transactions are paid by card in France, a figure higher than that of Europe as a whole, with 87%. Contactless payments also play an important role in this practice, since they represent more than half of card transactions.
Why the notch?
To maintain the growing trend in the use of bank cards and offer ever more convenience to their customers, banks have redoubled their efforts to invent cards that are ever simpler to use, all with an attractive and customizable design. Latest modification: the addition of a notch on the side opposite that of the chip.
This is not a manufacturing defect, nor an attempt to save plastic, nor a particularly convenient feature for removing the card from the wallet (on the contrary, the recess may make this more difficult). The notch is actually a way of helping the visually impaired to carry their card and insert it into payment terminals or ATMs on the correct 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, the Carte Vitale, store cards, and even the driving license, it can be difficult to navigate, especially for visually impaired people. So the notch is an easy solution to solve the problem and save time for those who are visually impaired.
These card models are not new in Europe. The first were launched in the United Kingdom by the banks NatWest and RBS in 2015 in partnership with the RNIB (Royal National Institute of Blind People). This solution, which may seem innocuous, still required a lot of research: we had to find a simple and effective touchscreen solution while ensuring that the operation of the distributors and payment terminals was not impacted. Instead of adding braille or reliefs that could potentially disrupt the reading of the card by withdrawal or payment terminals, a simple notch turned out to be the best solution.
Mastercard and its 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 distinct notches on the side, allowing users to identify them by touch. Credit cards have a rounded notch, debit cards have a square notch, while prepaid cards are recognizable by a triangular notch. It is both a winning marketing strategy, since it strengthens MasterCard’s brand image, and a real plus for customers with visual disabilities.
The industry is slowly moving forward to include the visually impaired
Despite these small touches that provide a more convenient experience for visually impaired people, there is still progress to be made to achieve complete accessibility of payment methods. For example, dialing the PIN is another challenge faced by the visually impaired, mainly with touchscreen payment terminals. Due to these difficulties, many choose to shop online whenever possible.
Today, one of the best solutions available remains to use contactless payment or payment applications such as Apple Pay or Google Pay. Unfortunately, contactless is limited to a certain amount. To counter this problem, some banks are offering a new generation of bank cards equipped with a fingerprint sensor. With these cards, no need to enter a code, and no amount limit: the card authorizes payment by reading the fingerprint of its owner. It is a technology that is still little used, but which is available in certain banks such as BNP.
Another significant problem for the visually impaired is not being able to visually confirm the amount of their card purchases in store. Certainly, there is little chance that a large supermarket would choose to scam a customer with a false amount, but the situation can be complicated in smaller establishments or abroad. In response to this challenge, the French company Thales has developed a voice bank card. This, linked to a dedicated mobile application, allows the user to hear the amount of their purchases from their phone and receive voice confirmation of the transaction. This card is certified by Visa and MasterCard, and works on all payment terminals without the need for software or hardware updates.
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