Accessible payment terminals

Why we were campaigning

Technology plays an ever-increasing role in our modern society and often offers many advantages. However, there are also downsides. Payment terminals, such as the devices used in shops and restaurants when paying by card or the built-in payment devices in ticketing machines used for public transport, need to be accessible to millions of disabled and elderly consumers in Europe. We campaigned for barrier free access to payment terminals for all. Initially payment terminals were not included in the scope of the proposed European Accessibility Act presented in 2015, and we obtained to have them included in the draft in 2017, and this was never questioned again up till the adoption of the EAA in April 2019. This put an end to our campaign.

Campaign History

Design for All

EBU believes that payment terminals should be designed following the principle of Design for All. Design for All is about design for human diversity, social inclusion and equality. It is a concept of designing products that are easy to understand and usable by everyone to the greatest extent possible. This ensures that everyone, including disabled and elderly consumers, has barrier free access to payment terminals.

To EBU it was clear that an accessibility standard for user-friendly payment terminals was needed for all European citizens!

European Accessibility Act

In December 2015, the European Commission published its proposal for a European Accessibility Act (EAA). In the original proposal for the EAA, payment terminals were not included in the scope. On September 14, 2017 however, the European Parliament voted in favour of the inclusion of payment terminals in the EAA, to the delight of EBU platform. Read a summary of EP’s position.

The current situation

EBU Recommendations 'Enhancing the accessibility of payment terminals' (pdf document, January 2024) a word version of this document is also available.
An Italian translation of this document is now available - Raccomandazioni EBU terminali di pagamento (pdf file)

The EEA, as eventually adopted on April 2019, confirms the inclusion of payment terminals in its scope, which is a major success in our campaign. For further information, see our EAA campaign. (05/02/2020)