Washington Mutual First to Install ATMs that Speak English and Spanish

SEATTLE  Washington Mutual, the nation's seventh largest financial services
company, today announced it has introduced ATMs that speak to the user in
both the English and Spanish languages. Talking ATMs are designed to assist
those who are visually impaired with using an ATM. Washington Mutual is
believed to be the first financial services company in the country to add a
second language to Talking ATMs. 

"We consider Talking ATMs for the visually impaired community comparable to
curb cuts for people using wheelchairs," said Dyan Beito, Washington Mutual's
Executive Vice President, Deposit Services. "This device makes it easier for
people who are visually impaired and not able to read Braille to gain access
to their bank accounts just like everyone else  through an ATM. And offering
the service in Spanish is a real plus for those who prefer to bank in their
own language."  

California and Florida affiliates of the American Council of the Blind
praised Washington Mutual's commitment to accessible banking. "We appreciate
WaMu's recognition of the need for blind and visually impaired people to bank
independently," said Catherine Skivers, president of the California Council
of the Blind. 

"With a Talking ATM, for the first time in my life I was able to bank
privately, something that most sighted consumers take for granted," said
Jesus Garcia, First Vice President of the Florida Council of the Blind. Beito
said that over 163 Washington Mutual financial centers in eight states
currently have at least one Talking ATM deployed on site. 

When all the machines are deployed by 2005, roughly 1,500 of Washington
Mutual's over 2,300 ATMs will be Talking ATMs. All of the Talking ATMs speak
in both the English and Spanish languages. There will be at least one Talking
ATM at each of Washington Mutual's more than 1,400 financial center
locations, and at least one at each non-branch ATM location. 

Any customer or non-customer may access the Talking ATM by inserting a
standard headset into an audio jack located on the front of the machine.
Headsets are available at no charge by calling our toll free number. Every
transaction a sighted customer can read on screen during a transaction can be
spoken in both English and Spanish. If a customer requests a receipt, it will
be spoken and printed. Additionally, the machine offers a spoken tutorial and
user guide for those using the Talking ATM for the first time, or anyone who
would like extra help or time with the ATM. Washington Mutual's website has a
Talking ATM locator with instructions so visually impaired customers can
obtain the user guide over the web before visiting a Talking ATM. 

During the development stage, Washington Mutual invited 37 visually impaired
testers to try the initial version of the Talking ATM. The testers' extensive
feedback was used to enhance the ATM's capabilities. 

Contributed by Alan Cantor