Thales Intros Voice Payment Card for Visually Impaired

Thales has introduced a Voice Payment Card for the visually impaired.

First revealed in September , the assistive technology has now been certified by Visa and Mastercard, Thales announced on Thursday (Dec. 1).

Setting the stage for Thales’ bank and FinTech clients to start issuing the cards, a press release stated that “this one-of-a-kind solution is about to be commercialized soon by several banks, convinced of its interest.”

The company said the Voice Payment Card would enhance trust and autonomy for people with a visual impairment, helping to protect them from mistakes and fraud.

Developed in partnership with the French FinTech Handsome, which specializes in building solutions for people with disabilities, the new Thales Voice Card works in tandem with a mobile app uniquely associated with each card.

When users pay at a point-of-sale (POS) terminal, transaction data is communicated via Bluetooth and the app vocalizes the amount before letting users validate it on their phones. Customers can hear the information through the device’s speaker or earphones.

Bertrand Knopf, vice president of banking and payment services at Thales, said that “innovation has the potential to solve a multitude of issues. That’s why, with the support of Handsome1 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.”

“Since then, it appeared that the solution has proven to be useful for other disabilities,” he added.

Last month, PYMNTS reported that Thales is one of the key players driving innovation in the European card market and has helped BNP Paribas, Bank Pocztowy and NatWest Group to introduce biometric payment cards that authenticate transactions with an on-card fingerprint scanner.

See more: FIs Embrace Biometric Payment Cards To Improve Security, Enhance User Experience

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