Nine out of 10 visually impaired people have already been victims of errors or fraud during a payment transaction by credit card, according to the Federation of the Blind in France. A chilling statistic that prompted the Thales group, already at the forefront of the biometric card, to find a solution to help an audience of some 2 million people in France.
After three years of research, prototypes and user tests, the company is marketing from this month of January the first bank card that whispers in the ear of the visually impaired. Called Voice Payment Card, it promises them “a safe and autonomous payment experience during their daily purchases”.
“Our R&D teams were able to add electronic components to the thickness of a card, recalls Frédéric Martinez, head of the innovative payment card offer at Thales. We said to ourselves: why not use a Bluetooth component so that the card, which knows all the elements of the transaction, because it communicates with the terminal, sends them to the user’s telephone. Which will be able to vocalize them either through the loudspeaker, or via the earpieces for more confidentiality. »
A technology that could also interest tourists
The Voice Payment Card takes on the appearance of a classic. To connect it to your phone, just put it on it once after opening a dedicated application. Then, during each transaction, the person will hear the requested amount. If it is correct, she will type the code on the terminal. If it is not, by fraud or by mistake, simply ask the merchant to redo the operation.
Certified by Mastercard and Visa, the Thales inclusive card will be offered to all the group’s client banks. Experiments have already taken place at Crédit Agricole or in a large South American bank. “And it is a Turkish bank which is making the first commercial launch at the start of the year”, specifies Sylvia Gibert, director of payment solutions at Thales.
Beyond the visually impaired, this technology could also help tourists. “When you’re abroad, the text on the terminal is in another language and the amount in another currency,” notes Frédéric Martinez. The card can simplify this by sending the information to the smartphone which will translate into the language and convert into the user’s currency. »