Thales launches payment card for visually impaired

Thales has announced the launch of a voice-assisted payments card in collaboration with FinTech Handsome to help the visually impaired make payments.

The IT company said it was inspired to develop the card the because 90 per cent of visually impaired people have once in their life faced fraud or encountered a mistake at a point of sales.

The card has access to payment amounts from point-of-sale terminals and communicates it to the mobile app via Bluetooth. Users can then hear the information either through the phone’s speaker or through earphones.

“With the support of Handsome and based on Thales’ key expertise in developing secure and convenient payment solutions, we decided to tackle concerns faced by blind and visually impaired people,” said Bertrand Knopf, vice president banking and payment services at Thales.

Knopf added: “All in all we are thrilled to see our innovations contribute to building more sustainable and responsible payment solutions.”

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