RUTENDO RORI
Local banks should offer facilities that will help people living with disabilities (PLWD) access banking services, their representatives have said.
They said it is critical for local lenders to forge new policy framework that will make their services more accessible by PLWD.
“Barriers are hindrances that prevent people with disabilities from doing many of the routine activities, like daily banking transactions, that most of us tend to take for granted,” Martin Chauraya, a public relations executive at Purple Signs Global, a non-governmental organisation that works with PLWD told Business Times.
He added: “In an attempt to mitigate these barriers, we are working on an expo to encourage banking institutions in Zimbabwe to offer facilities for PWDs. Banks should play a part in providing sustainable services to them.
“It should be highlighted that people having sight problems, especially those affected with blindness, may not even be able to get to a branch on their own. To such an issue, banks could send booklets, bank statements and pamphlets, whenever these are required by the client, in larger text prints for those whose eyesight is damaged, Braille for those who can read it, or simply as an audio CD so that those concerned do not have to provide additional effort on their own.”
Chauraya also said measures taken by banks in Zimbabwe to satisfy the needs of people with hearing loss were apparently non-existent.
“Some of the challenges that are faced by deaf customers include banks’ over-reliance on telephone use for security issues, unfair treatment, and the absence of hearing aid systems and poorly trained, dismissive and discourteous staff. Also, deaf customers protest that their communications frequently go unanswered and that they are requested to call in to discuss their issues.
“Recommending a relative or friend to address the bank on their behalf is not always the best solution due to confidentiality matters and this will not promote the financial inclusion of deaf customers but will make them over-dependent on third parties,” he said.
Chauraya said banks should also design their branches in such a way that their services are more accessible to their customers having physical disabilities.
“Indeed, ramps have been included in some banks’ architectures to facilitate access to wheelchairs and some banks make it a must to provide level access to their clients while meeting spaces are large enough to accommodate wheelchairs. Sadly though, this architecture is not found in smaller banks.
Therefore, ramps should be available on bank premises where steps are the only means of access.
“Queuing aisles should be designed wide enough for wheelchairs, for some of the aisles present in our banks are rather narrow.
Moreover, banks should consider investing in providing comfort to people in physical discomfort.
Wheelchair lifts could be installed where client service is not done on the ground floor while specific washrooms should be accessible to the public for some people may be physically unwell when attending a bank branch,” Chauraya said.
