TCF Bank Will Install Talking ATMs

Wayzata, Minn.- based TCF Bank (TCF), a subsidiary of TCF Financial Corporation, will install Talking ATMs and greater accessibility to printed materials as part of a major initiative intended to provide easier access to its banking services for visually-impaired individuals.

The bank will begin installing Talking ATMs in less than nine months. Hundreds of TCF banking locations will have the devices by the end of next year. Talking ATMs, which deliver audio information privately through any standard personal headset, make it possible for persons who are blind or who otherwise have difficulty reading an ATM screen to use the ATM independently.

In addition to Talking ATMs, TCF will enhance its current programs for communicating with customers with visual impairments. The bank will provide monthly bank statements for consumer accounts in Braille and large print, and will adopt a policy for ensuring effective communication of other banking documents.

TCF's initiatives are part of a collaboration with the Illinois Council of the Blind (ICB) and Equip for Equality, an Illinois disability advocacy organization.

Peggy Bresnick Kendler has been a writer for 30 years. She has worked as an editor, publicist and school district technology coordinator. During the past decade, Bresnick Kendler has worked for UBM TechWeb on special financialservices technology-centered ... View Full Bio