| The Digital India initiative aims to promote financial inclusion and transparency through digital banking. With advancements in assistive technology, blind individuals can now use mobile devices and computers for banking transactions. However, a significant gap remains between policy and practice, particularly in public sector banks.
The Eyeway Helpdesk in Mumbai received two distressing calls highlighting the ongoing challenges faced by visually impaired customers in accessing basic banking services.
Sangemeshwar Sangundi, a twenty-seven-year-old blind professional from Borati, Solapur, works with a company in Pune. Despite being a graduate pursuing post-graduation, he faced unnecessary hurdles in linking his Aadhaar card to his Bank of Maharashtra account. This delay, stretching from March to June 2024, nearly cost him the opportunity to apply for an MPSC scholarship.
In another case, fifty-two-year-old Bhikhan Bhai Bhojabhai from Junagad, Gujarat, a self-employed individual, encountered resistance from Bank of Baroda in availing mobile banking facilities for his joint account with his illiterate wife. The bank staff, ignorant of RBI and IBA guidelines, wrongly claimed that joint accounts with thumb impressions were ineligible for such services. |
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