Tinkoff launches Russia's first tactile map for people with visual impairments

Tinkoff launches the Tinkoff Black tactile debit card — the first bank card in Russia, developed jointly with visually impaired and blind clients, which solves the problem of their financial security and ease of use of banking products. The project partner was the Mir payment system.

The Tinkoff Black tactile card is designed to make it easier to find and read a bank card. As Tinkoff's internal research shows, people with visual impairments often have to ask others for help, causing clients to risk their financial security.

According to visually impaired and blind clients, they often deposit bank and transport cards into different pockets, remember the features of their surface and write down the card data in large print on a piece of paper.

The new tactile Tinkoff Black solves this problem. The wave-shaped notch on the short side allows you to find the card without looking and also insert it correctly into the ATM.

The set includes a special cardholder, thanks to which you can find the card even faster. Increased contrast and larger fonts will help people with visual impairments and difficulties in perceiving colors. These advantages of the new card were positively assessed by experts from the All-Russian Society of the Blind and focus group respondents as part of pilot testing of the new Tinkoff Black card.

The card will also help reduce the technology gap faced by visually impaired customers. Contactless payment — using Tinkoff Pay, SBP, QR code — may not be technically available on all phone models. Embossing (volumetric printing of numbers and letters on cards) is used less and less in the banking market for technological and economic reasons, and not all people with visual impairments know Braille. Therefore, a wavy notch on a physical card is almost the only solution for blind and visually impaired clients.

You can order a free tactile card by calling 8 800 555-25-50 or on a website adapted for reading by programs screen access and made in light and dark colors.

At the start, cards are produced in limited editions, then their release will be expanded taking into account customer comments and needs.

All questions and comments regarding the tactile map and the availability of ecosystem services can be reported to Tinkoff support via chat or by phone.