A recent report highlights significant improvements in accessibility support for the deaf community within UK financial services.
- The Lending Standards Board (LSB) marks substantial progress a year after launching their research on d/Deaf customers in banking.
- Major strides have been made in key accessibility services, particularly in the availability of British Sign Language (BSL).
- Emma Lovell urges continued efforts, despite the positive momentum, for achieving universal accessibility services.
- Additional insights from SigningBanks.UK underline ongoing advancements, projecting further enhancements in digital BSL access.
In a stride towards more inclusive financial services, a new report from the Lending Standards Board (LSB) highlights significant advancements made by UK banks and lenders in supporting customers with hearing impairments. The report, which aligns with the UK Deaf Awareness Week, evaluates changes implemented since the 2023 launch of the LSB’s Access for d/Deaf Customers in Banking & Credit research. In the UK, a considerable portion of the population, including 40% of individuals over 50 and 70% over 70, experiences some form of hearing loss.
The recent findings reveal advancements in nearly all seven key accessibility services identified the previous year. Notably, the availability of remote-access British Sign Language (BSL) services has increased substantially, with 73% of the surveyed registered firms now offering this option, an improvement from 55% in 2023. Additionally, the provision of lip speaker services has grown from 36% to 45%. Another critical enhancement is the availability of note-taking services, which surged from 9% to 45% over the past year. These efforts collectively aim to dismantle barriers for deaf individuals navigating financial services.
Emma Lovell, CEO of the Lending Standards Board, reflected on these developments, stating that while progress is evident, “there is still further to go and some accessibility services remain far from universal.” She emphasised the importance of awareness and training among financial services personnel to effectively support these new services. The goal is to foster an inclusive environment that ensures the deaf community can engage seamlessly with financial services.
Additional data from SigningBanks.UK corroborates the LSB’s findings, showing marked improvements within the sector over the last six months alone. BSL availability—both in-person and digitally—has expanded, with 70% of SigningBanks’ partners now offering BSL interpreters by request, rising from 60% in December 2023. Furthermore, an impressive 93% of partners plan to introduce digital BSL through telephony shortly, further bridging communication gaps for the hearing impaired.
As the financial sector continues to evolve, these efforts underscore a growing commitment to accessibility. The advancements in services such as video banking, text relay, and induction loops, together with ongoing developments for integrating BSL into telephony and web content, represent a forward-thinking approach aimed at inclusivity.
The UK financial services sector must maintain this momentum to achieve universally accessible services for the deaf community.
