How to Create An ADA Compliant Website For Banking And Finance

Why digital accessibility in banking and finance?

Banks and other financial institutions are becoming increasingly aware that people with disabilities make up a sizable portion of their customers and investors. Section 508 ADA compliance (Americans With Disabilities Act) in finance enables financial institutions to connect on a more personal level with this segment of customers and investors.

Digital accessibility in banking and finance means that anyone, regardless of his or her disability, can access and use banking or financial service websites. It also empowers people, regardless of his or her disability status, to be educated and involved in their financial, banking, and investment decisions.

Accessible banking and financial services demonstrate a banking and financial institution's commitment to meeting the individual needs of all clients. This is accomplished by adhering to inclusive principles when developing websites, apps, platforms, and information and communication technology (ICT) solutions.

The voluntary product accessibility template (VPAT) accessibility documents for banking and financial solutions provide current and potential customers with the information they need to take advantage of a bank's or another financial institution's offerings. Each Section 508 VPAT compliance step, based on financial statements, helps to improve the customer experience and deepen customer loyalty.

Creating an ADA-compliant website for banking and finance

Customers in the banking and financial sectors, like those in other sectors, are increasingly choosing socially conscious businesses over those that appear to be solely concerned with profit.

If you provide banking and financial solutions that demonstrate you care about each customer, it will boost your company's reputation among people who do not have disabilities while also improving the experience of people with disabilities who use your products or services.

Given the high volume of online banking and financial transactions, businesses in this sector will be more successful if they reach as many people as possible with their services. When they comply with ADA standards, they provide access to millions of customers.

Demonstrating Section 508 VPAT accessibility for your website, and other online banking and finance tools gives your current and prospective customers confidence in doing business with you.

In addition to providing the necessary accommodations for all of your customers, creating and maintaining an ADA-compliant website and other digital assets, helps to protect your banking and financial businesses from lawsuits and fines.

No clear website ADA accessibility guidelines

When it comes to ADA website accessibility, there are no hard and fast rules. This gap, however, does not give businesses the green light to disregard Section 508 compliance certification. They must still ensure that their websites are accessible to users with disabilities. Court cases such as Gil v. Winn-Dixie demonstrate the importance of developing an ADA-compliant website.

What is the best way to create an ADA-compliant website in light of ambiguous definitions?

While the ADA does not provide specific guidelines for website accessibility, the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) have helped many businesses and organizations achieve Section 508 compliance certification. The Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) are not a legal requirement, but they serve as a guideline for businesses and organizations looking to improve their digital accessibility.

WCAG ensures that your web content is:

• Perceivable: The content should be presented in an easily perceivable manner. This is achieved through the provision of text alternatives, including audio alternatives or assistive technology that help people who are visually impaired to easily perceive the content on your website.

• Operable: Your website's navigation should be simple to use. This can be accomplished by providing keyboard accessibility, which allows users with disabilities to easily navigate it and access necessary content.

• Understandable: Your website's content should be simple for all users to fully comprehend. You can improve the website's comprehension by making the content readable and predictable. You should also offer input assistance if necessary.

• Robust: You should make sure that your website's content can be interpreted by a variety of devices and platforms. This includes ensuring that the content on your website is compatible with user agents such as assistive technologies.

Meeting these standards, known as POUR, improves your website's accessibility to people with disabilities, particularly those with vision or hearing impairments, as well as those with cognitive, language, and learning disabilities.

WCAG is available in three versions: 1.0, 2.0, and 2.1. Version 2.0 superseded Version 1.0, and Version 2.1 is an extension of 2.0. Conformance is classified into three levels:

• The bare minimum level of accessibility, which is codified as “A”.

• The target level of accessibility that meets the legal requirements, which is codified as “AA”.

• The level of accessibility that exceeds the required accessibility standards, which is codified as “AAA”.

Following the POUR guidelines to at least level AA when designing your website will assist you in achieving Section 508 compliance certification for your banking or financial web-based products and services.

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Here’re clear steps to create an ADA-compliant banking & finance website

1. Read the ADA requirements

The first step toward creating an ADA-compliant website for your banking or finance company is to familiarize yourself with the sector's ADA requirements. If you don't want to miss out on Section 508 compliance certification, consult with experts who specialize in ADA compliance and VPAT accessibility.

ADA Compliance Pros has some of the best well-researched resources to help you learn more about ADA requirements for the banking and finance industries. We will also provide you with resources to assist you to obtain VPAT certification for your website.

1. Create alt tags for all images, videos, and audio files

Alt tags enable users with disabilities to read or hear alternative descriptions of your website's content that they would not be able to see or hear otherwise. They describe the objects on the website and give a general overview of the functions of the objects on the website.

1. Create text transcripts for all video and audio content

Text transcripts assist users with hearing impairments in accessing content. This accepts them as valuable users of your website, which is critical for banking and financial businesses because customers come in a variety of shapes and sizes.

1. Identify the website’s language in the header code

It is absolutely essential to specify which language the website should be read in. This helps users who use text readers. When you indicate the language used on the website, text readers can better identify and function with those codes.

1. Provide alternatives and suggestions when users encounter input errors

Ensure that when a user with a disability encounters input errors as a result of their need to navigate your website differently, the website automatically offers recommendations on how visitors can better navigate to the required content.

1. Create a layout that is consistent and organized

Ensure that your website's menus, links, and buttons are organized so that they can be distinguished from one another. The layout should allow for easy navigation throughout the website.

Need help with your website’s 508 compliance certification?

To find out more about ADA website compliance and how you can protect your baking and finance businesses from costly lawsuits, click here to contact us now. You can also reach us at (626) 486-2201.

As part of our assistance in achieving Section 508 ADA compliance in finance, we will also provide you with a VPAT example for banking and finance websites, as well as free website compliance checking.