Delivering Banking Facilities for the Disabled

Delivering Banking Facilities for the Disabled Healthy Banking:  The way towards increased financial inclusion Contents Abstract Introduction Recommendations A. Sight Impaired B. Hearing loss C. Physical disabilities Conclusion References Abstract The Bank of Mauritius’ initiative ‘Banking Your Future’ to promote a fair and inclusive banking sector has been launched in June 2014 to investigate the 100 possible ways in which the banking sector could be improved. Based on the above project, this report aims at analyzing the nature, dynamics and degree of financial exclusion of people bearing a disability and examines the significance of access to banking facilities within this group of people that is more often than not marginalized. Thus, this study further explores Pillars 1, 5 and 6 of the eight pillars set out in the Task force produced by the Bank of Mauritius in June 2014. These include, accessibility of banking to all, fair treatment of customers and customer protection respectively. In simpler terms, this report explores how the delivery and operation of banking facilities could be developed and/or improved to attend to the constant needs of people with a physical or learning disability with the view to promote their financial inclusion in the banking sector. Introduction Banking is a fundamental part of the fabric of routine life for most people, nevertheless certain people in Mauritius are deprived the access to a bank account and to fair banking services due to the difference they present. Indeed, 4.8%[1] of the Mauritian population has been recorded as having a disability in 2011. With an ageing population, the statistics look set to grow further. This group of people therefore embodies a substantial segment of any bank’s consumer base and it is in the interest of these institutions to satisfy the needs of their clients. People with a disability require access to banks and their services in order to become autonomous by managing their finances as well as to keep track of their regular benefit remittances. For many of them, finance issues are a substantial source of worry and stress at the time when they should be concentrating on their health rather than their financial stability. Sadly though, some providers are not very effective when dealing with people having health difficulties. To this issue, this research aims at promoting the financial inclusion of the disabled population by identifying how banking institutions could improve their services to alleviate the problems faced by this minority population that is too often left behind. Supporting disabled people is not just about doing the right thing for consumers facing hardships but can be beneficial for banking businesses as well. Not only will such an initiative reduce debt, improve staff contentment and breed customer loyalty but will also guarantee regulatory compliance. It is to be highlighted that banks are in a good posture to help make a change since they have the tools to provide support to these people. Therefore, throughout this report some measures that could be implemented by banks to help and support disabled people pertaining to their personal finances will be discussed with a view to stimulate accessibility of banking to all, fair treatment of customers and customer protection. Recommendations The recommendations throughout this report will be subdivided into distinct sections relating to a specific health impairment namely sight, hearing and physical limitations. A. Sight Impaired The Population Census conducted in 2011 showed that approximately 14000 people had a sight problem even when wearing glasses. This situation undeniably has a severe impact on their everyday lives and with years going by like in the blink of an eye this number is certainly on the rise. Indeed banks are not oblivious to such an issue for they have invested in talking ATMs, whereby what appears on the screen is read aloud by the machine to facilitate the daily transactions of people suffering from sight impairment. However, not all banks in Mauritius have taken such an initiative thereby penalizing their clients. Thus, these speech enabled ATMs ought to become more pervasive throughout the island while providers not extending such a service to their clients need to consider this enhancement that could make easier the lives of people having sight problems. JAWS[2] and earphones could be introduced in Mauritius so that blind and low-vision users can conduct ATM transactions in such a way that they have a feeling of privacy and security during the process. It is to be noted that navigating around an ATM pad is facilitated by the fact that the number 5 has an elevated dot so that the central number on the number pad can be located by touching it. This is the case with most if not all ATMs found in Mauritius. Moreover, some ATMs also have other tactile support for instance an elevated circle that indicates ‘OK’ thereby confirming the transaction while an elevated cross denotes abortion of the transaction. However, certain ATMs lack these latter facilities as the ‘OK’ and ‘Cancel’ buttons both have a slit rectangle on the pad making the difference between both imperceptible. Moreover, it should be highlighted that people having sight problems, especially those affected with blindness, may not even be able to get to a branch on their own. To such an issue, banks could send booklets, bank statements and pamphlets, whenever these are required by the client, in larger text prints for those whose eyesight is damaged, Braille for those who can read Braille as it should be noted that not everyone can read Braille, particularly if sight problems have developed in a late stage of life- , or simply as an audio CD so that those concerned do not have to provide additional effort on their own. Visually disabled users also encounter barriers such as access to internet banking transactions. It will certainly sound pretentious and expensive to include to these recommendations facilities like computer voice recognition softwares to facilitate the use of online banking services by people having sight impairment. Such an initiative may lead to a tradeoff between easing the use of online banking and the bank’s security system. However, what is more accessible to banks is changing the formatting of their websites by altering the display in such a way that the websites are more easily read. This could be in the form of text size where propositions at the top of the page could include normal, large and extra-large which could spearhead into a change in the text size throughout the website. Visually impaired people require patient human contact and continuous customer care. Implementing the above recommendations will not only promote the financial inclusion of people suffering from sight impairment but will also provide a competitive edge to the banks providing such facilities. B. Hearing loss According to the population census of 2011, there are more than 4000Mauritians with some form of hearing problem. Banks are considered as service providers, according to The Equal Opportunities Act 2008, and are consequently required to take actions to make sure that their services are as accessible and fair as possible to customers suffering from hearing loss so that the latters are not given a less favourable treatment as compared to non-disabled customers. Deaf customers report that banks tend to discriminate them against other customers, consequently making them feel aggrieved and embarrassed by banks’ indifference to their hearing limitations. The plight of deaf bank customers include banks’ over-reliance on telephone use for security issues, unfair treatment, the absence of hearing aid systems and poorly trained, dismissive and discourteous staff. Also, deaf customers protest that their communications frequently go unanswered and that they are requested to call in to discuss their issues. Recommending a relative or friend to address the bank on their behalf is not always the best solution due to confidentiality matters and this will not promote the financial inclusion of deaf customers but will make them over-dependent on third parties. It is to be highlighted that measures taken by banks in Mauritius to satisfy the needs of people with hearing loss are apparently inexistent. To this issue, in order to increase the financial inclusion and promote the fair treatment and welfare of people with hearing loss, the following measures could be considered with the hope that these recommendations do not fall on deaf ears. The text relay service can be a crucial aid for people with hearing problems. It is a service whereby the customer can call any of the bank agents’ numbers using text relay and when the call is answered, an operator will join in and communicate the request of the customer- received in written-form to the bank in oral form. As wisely said by Israelmore Ayivor (Shaping the dream), â€Å"Don’t despise little things that contain tiny miracles. Enjoy little actions!† Similarly banks need not take noticeable actions to help their customers suffering from hear loss. Indeed, an efficient Note Writer at the counter could facilitate the communication with an individual that cannot communicate orally. This particular teller could jot down the transaction’s purpose, fees and issues on paper so that the customer understands what the transaction consists of and what is required from him. Similarly, when dealing with people having hearing impairments simple actions that may seem futile could facilitate the transaction between both parties. Indeed, the bank staff should make sure they are in a well-lighted zone where the deaf customer can see their faces during communication. Looking directly and speaking directly to the disable person instead of his interpreter will make him feel valued during the transaction. Staff at the counter ought also to avoid putting their hands or any document in front of their face or mouth when speaking. Moreover, counter staffs could be initiated to sign language. If at least two counter staff trained for sign language are present at counters, this will undoubtedly be an advantage for the client but this will also be a serious competitive gain to the bank itself. However, notice often need to be given if the service is needed. In the same optic, since disabled people prefer transacting from home, an online service could be implemented whereby with a computer and a webcam, the disabled customer is able to speak to a bank staff that is trained for sign language and can thereby communicate a request or make a bank transaction. Pertaining to advertising campaigns made by banks, visual advertisements ought to be subtitled so that deaf people don’t feel excluded and can thus understand the advertisement with the same ease a non-disabled customer does. Hearing loss is an emergent problem so it is vital that banks take actions to ensure people having hearing disabilities can access their services without hindrance for if only a few thousand of the population suffering from hear loss took legal action against the pitiable treatment they receive, these financial institutions could end up paying substantial compensation to customers with hearing impairments. C. Physical disabilities There exist several types and degrees of physical disabilities. It is widely thought that people with physical disabilities require a wheelchair. However, this is not always the case since people suffering from arthritis, heart or lung conditions and those having undergone amputations also have difficulty with moving, sitting or standing. Indeed according to the population census conducted in 2011, a rough 42% of the disabled population are physically impaired and require assistance in their routine life. Banks in Mauritius do cater for the needs of people with such difficulties. For instance, the large Mauritian banks design their branches in such a way that their services are more accessible to their customers having physical disabilities. Indeed, ramps have been included in their architectures to facilitate access to wheelchairs and some banks make it a must to provide level access to their clients while meeting spaces are large enough to accommodate wheelchairs. Sadly though this architecture is not found in smaller banks. Therefore, ramps should be available on bank premises where steps are the only means of access. However, there are still gaps that ought to be filled in order to promote the financial inclusion of having physical problems. In a first instance, queuing aisles should be designed wide enough for wheelchairs for some of the aisles present in our banks are rather narrow. Moreover, banks should consider investing in providing comfort to people in physical discomfort. Wheelchair lifts could be installed where client service is not done on the ground floor while specific washrooms should be accessible to the public for some people may be physically unwell when attending a bank branch. It should be noted that certain people do not suffer from apparent physical disabilities but are naturally short in height without mentioning those born with dwarfism. For them and for the disabled population using wheelchairs, banks should consider low level teller counters in their branches as well as at least a low-level ATM machine that could be easily accessed by such people with measures that assure privacy and security during the transaction process. Given that all these recommendations are taken into consideration in a near future, people with physical difficulties will certainly feel more included financially and will find banking services more accessible and fairer bearing in mind that customer protection ought to be one of the prime objectives of a bank. Conclusion Barriers are hindrances that prevent people with disabilities from doing many of the routine activities, like daily banking transactions, that most of us tend to take for granted. A disability can occur to anyone at any time. In fact, as the Mauritian population greys, many of us could eventually face some kind of physical or mental limitation. This foresight report therefore, looks out to banking in the future years and defines the revolution that could ultimately lead to healthier banking practices. To this issue banks are called to recognise the needs of disabled clients and use judicious endeavours to improve their access to banking services. This report thus sets out potential actions that banks could and should explore and adopt for a brighter future. These changes will certainly present increased facilities for the disable population while presenting opportunities for the Mauritian banks to develop competitive assets, but they will also present considerable challenges to these institutions. It will be essential for the Mauritian banks to make a collective step to forge new policy frameworks and develop actions so that people having some kind of disability can feel financially autonomous thereby rebalancing fairness among clients in banking activities. Not only will such measures promote Pillars 1, 5 and 6 of the eight pillars set out in the Task force including, accessibility of banking to all, fair treatment of customers and customer protection respectively but these will fundamentally help meeting essential human needs. As from tomorrow and ever after, open your eyes to the world surrounding you, hear the cry of those who need you and walk together towards something new, something true: Healthier Banking- the way towards increased financial inclusion. References Global Rainbow Foundation. (2011) Handbook of Rights for Person with Disability in Mauritius Government of Mauritius. (2008) National Policy Paper Action Plan on Disability: â€Å"Valuing People with Disabilities† Jones. P., A., (2009) Still banking on a fresh start Livingstone. J. (2007) Banking matters to me: The experiences of people with a learning disability seeking to use banking products and services. Friends Provident Foundation. ISBN 978-1-906249-01-4 Livingstone. J., Dean. L. (2008) Banking on good decisions: How can the Mental Capacity Act help you with your bank, building society or post office account? Mental Health Foundation. ISBN 978-1-906162-17-7 MINISTRY OF FINANCE AND ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT (2012) Statistics Mauritius: 2011 Housing and Population Census. Volume IV: Disability REPUBLIC OF MAURITIUS (2011) Population Census: Main Results RNIB. (2012) Safe Statistics and key messages about sight loss Samuel. C., (2009–2010) Making Bank Notes Accessible for Canadians Living with Blindness or Low Vision. THE BANK OF MAURITIUS (2014) Banking Your Future: Towards a fair inclusive banking sector THE CO-OPERATIVE BANK (2013) Talking ATMs for the blind and partially sighted: Because banking with us should be as easy as possible for all Westpac Banking Corporation. (2008) Day-to-Day Bank Accounts: Easy banking for customers with disability. WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION. (2014) Country Cooperation Strategy at a glance: Mauritius. [1] Republic of Mauritius 2011 Population Census whereby 3.6% are aged between 15-59 years and 17.5% forms part of an elder population [2] Job Access With Speech (JAWS) screen reader

Dangers of Online Dating Essay

In this article the author was relating teenage obesity to some of the dangerous activities that teens may be experimenting with. The authors theory was that since sometimes teenagers who are obese may be socially isolated, they may do things to try to fit in with the crowd. Also being socially isolated may cause stress. Some of these things may include experimenting with drugs and alcohol. One of these drugs might be cigarettes which can become very dangerous to an obese person because of the health risks involved. And it was said that although skinnier girls are more likely to have ever had sex, it was said that when an obese girl did have intercourse it will be more likely to happen under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol. Both of those are dangerous and cause these girls to be at risk or pregnancy or STD’s. This article could affect many of the overweight girls that are on this college campus. I believe that many people are introduced to the drug and alcohol world around this time in their life. And in college you need to protect yourself twice as much if you decide to engage in those activities, especially if you are at a college party or in a unfamiliar setting. Also many students start feeling the stress when they come to college and realize the work load. A way of coping with stress is substance use. Therefore, once again every body needs to be safe and smart when it comes to drug and alcohol use. The safest way is not to use drugs and alcohol. It ensures sober sex and a sober safe night.

Modern America Matrix Essay

After John F Kennedys death, on December 6, 1963. Theodore White wrote an essay for Life magazine in which he compared Kennedys life to the legend of Camelot. Theodore White wrote that this was a time with a â€Å"magic moment in  American history when gallant men danced with beautiful women, when great deeds were done, when artists, writers, and poets met at the White House. There will never be another Camelot again†. Moss, G.D., & Thomas, E.A. (2013). Moving on: The American people since 1945 (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Marilyn Monroe Marilyn Monroe was a movie star sex symbol in the 1950’s Marilyn served as a role model for women. The fashion of the day was not about comfort but to be very sexy and femininity conforms to the prevailing sexual stereotype. Moss, G.D., & Thomas, E.A. (2013). Moving on: The American people since 1945 (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Tariff Reductions August 1993, Congress approved a new round of tariff reductions on manufactured goods covered under the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade. The tariff on manufacturing good had been affect since World War II. In 1993 congress reduced the tariff to help the country’s economic recovery. In 1994, Clinton followed these victories by reducing trade barriers with major Pacific Rim nations. Moss, G.D., & Thomas, E.A. (2013). Moving on: The American people since 1945 (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Peace Corps In 1961, the Kennedy administration launched the Peace corps. This was established to help Latin America and other third world countries. The Peace Corps was formed because of the cold war concerns in third world countries and from a desire to give idealistic young Americans an opportunity for public service. Over the next two years, about 7,500 Peace Corps volunteers were sent to forty-four nations in Asia, Africa, and Latin America. Most of them worked as teachers; others found jobs in health care, agricultural reform, and community development Moss, G.D., & Thomas, E.A. (2013). Moving on: The American people since 1945 (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson. Alliance for Progress In the 1960’s the Kennedy  administration developed a multifaceted assistance program called the Alianza para progreso. The Alliance for progress was established to blunt the appeal of Castroism and foreclose Soviet opportunities in Latin America. Over the  life of the program, billions of dollars in loans and grants from both public and private sources were fed into the Alliance for Progress. Moss, G.D., & Thomas, E.A. (2013). Moving on: The American people since 1945 (5th ed.). Boston, MA: Pearson.

History of Oman - Free Essay Example

Sample details Pages: 5 Words: 1579 Downloads: 5 Date added: 2019/02/20 Category History Essay Level High school Tags: Oral History Essay Did you like this example? Oman is an Arab country located in the Middle East, beside the United Arab Emirates as well as Yemen. Since that is the case, I attempted to focus on Tran- Saharan slavery although after asking my father and sibling questions which consisted of: what can you tell me about Oman and slavery? Would it be considered part of Trans-Saharan slavery? Why do we have many mixed bloods in Oman especially Zanzibari blood? And why is there a cast system with last names? And the response I got from each of them showed two different perspectives. They both agreed that this was not a part of Trans-Saharan slave trade since that focused on North Africa mostly and what they know about Oman’s history is about its relationship with Zanzibar which is a region of Tanzania located in East Africa. Asking my father at first, showed how much of a true patriot he is. He told me that Oman was not really involved in slavery, but it was a matter of trade between two brothers, since Zanzibar was colonized by Omani’s, one of our past Sultans chose to run Oman whereas his brother would run Zanzibar and it was purely a matter of trade of goods and services which led many Zanzibaris to come to Oman where they were given jobs and were getting paid for it. This then led me to ask why there was a cast system with last names? Since I’ve heard several stories of girls and boys not eligible to get married to a certain person due to their last names as some are considered â€Å"servant† last names. He responded with telling me that during the 1970’s when the current Sultan Qaboos Al Said took charge of Oman , he made an announcement for all Omanis around the world to come back to the country and claim their Omani nationality, which allowed non-Omanis to come into the country and claiming to be Omani, hence making their own last names close to actual Omani last names such as my last name â€Å"Al Habsi† is changed to â€Å"Al Habdi† which can apparently be easily traced to not really being Omani, which is discrimination and is illegal in Oman but still unfortunately takes place. Don’t waste time! Our writers will create an original "History of Oman" essay for you Create order On the other hand, I asked my sister Awatif who is a soon to be graduate from Georgetown University, whom conducted research and interviews of the relationship of Oman and Zanzibar both physically in Oman as well as Zanzibar. Which was inconclusive due to insufficient evidence from both ends as they both kept contradicting one another. She let me know that after conducting her interview and doing her research in Oman she noticed that many Omani’s claimed that it was never a slave trade that took place and there were third parties such as Britain who were intervened in Zanzibar as well who could have been enslaving the people of Zanzibar at that period. One thing that stood out was when she told me that she had interviewed a man who had written a book on the relationship of Oman and Zanzibar in the 1960’s, who said that all these monuments and tourism places of where Omani’s supposedly kept their slaves in are fabricated to gain merely money. Whereas, when she con ducted her research in Zanzibar, she was informed that Omani’s did enslave the Zanzibari’s and she was also taken on the tour to see these artifacts and monuments but kept asking herself whether or not this tour guide is trying to sell her a story or not. She later on told me that her final thoughts on which were that she would consider herself completely in denial if she were to say that no Omanis enslaved the citizens of Zanzibar, so she believes that it did take place but not to an extreme level since some people may have very well been unaware of slavery taking place. She also took the time to point out how different people have different stories and different perspectives on matters like so and she mentioned that since the most people of Zanzibar do not really hold a grudge on Omani citizens since there is so much shared culture and tradition between them and in fact keep pictures of our current Sultan in some stores, I believe that this could have also been a mis communication or a misbelief between the two regions. Reading John W. Fields’ Narrative left me sorrowful. He explained his daily routine in the plantation with the mistress and master that were cruel and harsh to them. He explained how the slaves around him including himself would try t educate themselves whenever they would get the chance to and also pointed out the harsh rules and laws of white men educating slaves that would be punished drastically for it. He also mentions that â€Å"life as a slave was a repetition of hard work, poor quarters and board†[1] which got me thinking that perhaps when the Omani’s took some Zanzibari’s back to Oman to give them a job they might have been put in horrible places to stay in as well as work hard every day maybe with or without pay. Perhaps even with pay they were probably cheated with what they actually deserved for their labor just like how John Fields was when he ran away and got a job that paid 7 dollars a month for his general labor, which isn’t enough t o live by. Which might have been what happened in Oman too, leading the people of Zanzibar to believe it was a part of slavery. The second narrative read was Tempie Cummins’ narrative[2] which she recalled from since she was a child. One particular part of her story stood out to me, which was when she reported that her mother would be listening to the white folks conversing from the chimney, hearing that these slaves they held were in fact given their rights of freedom but the master still did not want to let them go, because he was still trying to make money out of them. Which one brother named Sayyid majid bin Said Al Busaidi became the Sultan of Zanzibar from 1834 to 1870[3] which was what my father tried to explain to me, but further research indicates that Zanzibar fell under the control of Oman from1698, so this period runs through when slavery was still not abolished to when it was or at least should have been. This allows the question of whether or not the Omani perspective given was after slavery was abolished and that’s why they did not consider themselves owning or slaves and the Tanz anian perspective is being focused before slavery was abolished, or it could be both because some Omani’s may have still enslaved the citizens of Zanzibar even after it was abolished. Before coming to the U.S, I was curious of where I could be from and if I was really Omani. Slowing growing up in schools with classmates who were told to be ashamed of being a mixed blood by other students which kept me in denial for some parts of my life and the same goes for the other classmates who refused to admit they were a mixture of both. This led to an identity crisis within each individual since you could either be one or the other, in the eyes of people around you. As we got older though, the more open we were to admit that we were mixed and the more pride you took within both cultures of your family which made me curious to the question of what other ethnicity could be within me? Coming to the U.S, I kept on seeing D.N.A testing websites being advertised all the time which I saw as an opportunity to figure out who I really am. I used the Ancestry D.N.A site to order the test and find out my D.N.A results which took a while to receive. My D.N.A results overall and exactly state that I am 34% South Asian, 23% Middle Eastern, 23% African South-Eastern Bantu and 7% Caucus, it also includes a Migration sector which for me is African Caribbean’s, letting me know that I may have relatives from that region that were part of that migration. As soon as I received my D.N.A results I was really confused and the identity crisis had come up once more. I understood where the Middle Eastern and African percentage came from since I’ve identified myself as an Afro-Arab girl since my father is Omani and my mother is Ugandan but the Caucus and especially the South Asian percentage, made me go insane with curiosity! I texted my parents as soon as I could only to get an unfulfilling response. My mother nor my father had the answer as to why these percentages which left me in the dark. Taking Africana 101 is honestly what opened my eyes, reading about Genetics and knowing more about D.N.A made me realize that the results I got convey my families past history and the fact that I can now tell the regions my blood is associated with can open up new doors for more family members and more cultures that I should proudly be a part of. After realizing this I was so happy and absolutely do not regret taking this test, it was worth every penny.