Dive Brief:

• TD Bank launched an accessibility tool to help users with varying disabilities and preferences have a more comfortable web experience.
• Some of the key features in the Adapted Accessibility tool include adjustable font size, dyslexia-friendly fonts, dark mode, monochrome mode, reading guides to help users focus on the text and bionic reading, where the first few letters of the word are made bold.
• Created by TD Lab, the bank is piloting the new Adapted Accessibility tool with more than 6,000 U.S. front-line retail employees and aims to expand to nearly 10,000 U.S. colleagues by the end of 2023, the bank said.

Dive Insight:

TD is running the pilot concurrently with Disability:IN, a disability inclusion organization, to test it with its own staff and to ensure that it is ready for the bigger market.

The accessibility tool, designed as a browser plug-in for Google Chrome that lets users set their preferences for viewing web pages, debuted as part of the annual TD Tech Day event in March. 

“Tools like this, when we design for the margins, they really impact all users,” Samantha Estoesta, product manager of social innovation specialization at TD, told Banking Dive. “They are actually finally used by individuals who might not have an accommodation or might not have a disability, but still have preferences.”

It’s hardly the first adaptation the Canadian lender has made for customers with disabilities. TD integrated Aira, a visual interpretation app for blind and low-vision users, making it available in more than 1,100 of the bank’s locations in 2021.

The bank in March launched an accessibility feature for deaf Canadian customers. Any TD customer can call a dedicated phone line using their Video Relay Services application with a sign-language interpreter who will be connected with a specially trained employee of the bank.

“We've been really impressed with the amount of feedback that we've already gotten from this rollout,” Estoesta said. “And then we are also working with Disability:IN, so when we do want to go for our public launch, [we want to ensure] that we are meeting with the right folks, making sure that we socialize it in the right communities, and then also utilizing our really fantastic folks over here to promote it.”

A follow-up feature from TD’s Equity Resource Hub, launched last year, led to building the Adapted Accessibility tool, Estoesta said. TD originally created a test version that was embedded in the web property. It then moved on to become a separate project. 

"Our goal is to deliver best-in-class technology to help enable our colleagues and deliver legendary experiences for our customers," Greg Keeley, senior executive vice president of platforms and technology at TD, said in a statement. "Accessibility is a key component of that technology journey.”

Users can choose profiles or customize based on their preference, which might vary depending on the time of day, Estoesta said.

The tool is designed to coexist with other assistive technologies, including stand-alone screen magnification software, TD said.

“Being able to tailor your web browsing experience to your own needs, be it just where you are in that moment, or regular needs, is something that I hope is the standard moving forward,” Estoesta said.