Self-service terminals are being used by the general public for an increasing range of applications. The most sophisticated terminal in widespread use is the Automated Teller Machine (ATM), but ticket selling machines for public transport now offer a bewildering number of choices to the user. To handle this increased number of choices, the terminal often incorporates a complex interface which can cause problems for users who are elderly or have a disability. However some of these terminals give the potential for modifying the interface to meet the needs of the individual user.

Elderly and disabled people form a greater proportion of the population than most people realize. With the increase in the number of elderly people in Europe, there will be an increase in the number of people with disabilities. The needs of elderly and disabled people have been largely ignored in the past, but the demands from disabled and elderly people for more user-friendly services will grow, particularly as the benefits of smart card use become more widely known.

The advent of multi-function smart cards will necessitate much closer collaboration between financial institutions, telecommunications companies and pubic transport operators. It would be advantageous for the customers if one result of this collaboration was a greater similarity in user interfaces on self-service terminals. Also it will be necessary for standards to be applied uniformly by all the service providers.

This brochure describes the problems disabled people have with self-service terminals for financial transactions, telecommunications and public transport, and proposes methods for alleviating these problems.

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1. Smart cards may be used in financial transactions, public telephones and for public transport. Here a woman is at a ticket vending machine.
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