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National Federation of the Blind and Massachusetts Reach
Agreement with Nation’s Largest ATM Deployer
6/27/2007
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
John G. Paré Jr.
Director of Public Relations
National Federation of the Blind
(410) 659-9314, extension 2371
(410) 913-3912 (Cell)
jpare@nfb.org
National Federation of the Blind and Massachusetts Reach
Agreement with Nation’s Largest ATM Deployer
Cardtronics Agrees to Make Nearly 30,000 ATMs Accessible
Baltimore, Maryland (June 27, 2007): The National Federation of the Blind, the
nation’s oldest and largest organization of blind persons, the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts, and Cardtronics Inc., which has the largest ATM network in the
United States, today announced a landmark agreement that will make the vast
majority of the ATMs owned, sold, or serviced by Cardtronics accessible to the
blind by July 1, 2010. The settlement agreement, which ends years of
litigation, will cover each and every ATM owned or operated by Cardtronics.
Taking into account the five thousand ATMs that Cardtronics plans to acquire
from 7-Eleven, Inc. pursuant to an agreement announced earlier this month, the
total number of ATMs covered by this settlement agreement will approach thirty
thousand. Cardtronics ATMs are located in every state in the U.S. and are found
in convenience stores, grocery stores, drugstores, national retailers, airports,
and train stations. These ATMs will be equipped with a voice guidance feature
that can be activated by plugging headphones into a jack on the ATM. The
National Federation of the Blind will monitor the progress of Cardtronics in
making its ATMs accessible as prescribed by the settlement agreement.
The parties anticipate that the notice, hearing, and approval process
required by the court will take three to five months, with the settlement
becoming effective late this year.
Marc Maurer, President of the National Federation of the Blind, said: “The
ATM is the most common way for members of the sighted public to conduct
financial transactions. To be full participants in modern society, blind people
must have access to these devices. This agreement represents a monumental step
forward for all blind Americans. We look forward to working with Cardtronics to
make sure that blind people everywhere can experience the same fast, convenient
service that sighted people enjoy.”
Jack Antonini, President and CEO of Cardtronics, agreed with Dr. Maurer and
stated: “The settlement of this litigation will permit all parties to focus
their attention where it counts, namely on improving ATM accessibility. I share
Dr. Maurer’s view that this settlement agreement is a significant milestone and
am proud that together with the National Federation of the Blind, Cardtronics
will be a leader, not a follower, in improving ATM accessibility.”
Massachusetts Attorney General Martha Coakley said: “With today’s technology,
there is no reason that every ATM shouldn’t be outfitted with this equipment as
a means to comply with access requirements. This agreement will result in blind
consumers across the country having improved access to one of the most basic
devices that we take for granted.”
The 1990 Americans with Disabilities Act required ATMs to be made accessible
to the blind. Large financial services institutions such as Bank of America
have been installing ATMs with a voice guidance feature for many years, but ATMs
installed in convenience stores, drugstores, airports, movie theaters, shopping
malls, and other places have not kept pace with this trend. To remedy this
situation, the National Federation of the Blind and the Commonwealth of
Massachusetts brought suit against E*Trade Bank and E*Trade Access. In June
2004, E*Trade sold its ATM portfolio to Cardtronics, Inc., which is now the
largest deployer of ATMs both in the United States and in the world. This
landmark agreement is the culmination of that litigation. Today Cardtronics
ATMs primarily provide customers with basic financial transactions such as cash
dispensing, but Cardtronics is exploring the addition of advanced functionality
features to many of its ATMs so as to enable the consumer, including the blind
consumer, to make image deposits, pay bills like a utility or cell phone bill,
transfer money, cash checks, and perform similar financial transactions at the
ATM. The agreement requires that all consumer transactions on U.S. deployed
Cardtronics owned ATMs must be able to be performed independently by the blind.
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About the National Federation of the Blind
With more than 50,000 members, the National Federation of the Blind is the
largest and most influential membership organization of blind people in the
United States. The NFB improves blind people’s lives through advocacy,
education, research, technology, and programs encouraging independence and
self-confidence. It is the leading force in the blindness field today and the
voice of the nation's blind. In January 2004 the NFB opened the National
Federation of the Blind Jernigan Institute, the first research and training
center in the United States for the blind led by the blind.
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