The articles of the Regulation on the Accessibility of Banking Services are as follows. These articles were published in its current form in the Official Gazette dated Saturday, 18 June 2016, issue number 29746. Banks are strictly required to comply with these articles.
PART ONE
Purpose and Scope, Legal Basis and Definitions
Purpose and scope
ARTICLE 1 – (1) The purpose of this Regulation is to regulate the procedures and principles for making banking services accessible and usable for customers with disabilities.
Legal basis
ARTICLE 2 – (1) This Regulation has been prepared on the basis of Article 80 and the second and fourth paragraphs of Article 93 of the Banking Law No. 5411 dated 19/10/2005, and Article 7 of the Law on Persons with Disabilities No. 5378 dated 1/7/2005.
Definitions
ARTICLE 3 – (1) In the implementation of this Regulation;
a) ATM: Electronic transaction devices that enable automated cash withdrawal as well as all or some of the other banking transactions,
b) Bank: Banks as defined in Article 3 of Law No. 5411,
c) Person with a disability: A person with a disability as defined in Article 3 of Law No. 5378,
d) Accessibility Standards: The accessibility standards defined in Article 3 of Law No. 5378,
e) Card: Debit cards and credit cards as defined in Article 3 of the Bank Cards and Credit Cards Law No. 5464 dated 23/2/2006,
f) Card issuer: The card issuing institution as defined in Article 3 of Law No. 5464,
g) Customer: Persons who use or wish to use the services offered by the bank, regardless of whether they have any contractual relationship with the bank,
h) POS: Any device consisting of hardware and software that enables payments to be made by card,
shall have the meanings given above.
PART TWO
General Principles
General principles on the accessibility of banking services
ARTICLE 4 – (1) When planning its services and products, the bank takes into account the requirements for use by customers with disabilities.
(2) The bank offers its services in a form suitable for use by customers with disabilities and brings the areas where services are provided, and the services themselves, into conformity with the accessibility standards.
(3) The bank ensures that its personnel assist customers with disabilities. It trains the personnel who interact directly with customers on communicating with customers with disabilities.
(4) The bank informs its customers with disabilities about access, use and security matters relating to the banking services it offers. The customer's disability status is taken into account in the information provided.
(5) The bank ensures that signs, boards and warnings are sufficiently large, that their text and backgrounds are in contrasting colors, and that they are adequately lit. Wherever possible, the combined use of green and red is avoided in coloring, and embossing is used for text and markers.
(6) In texts on screens and on paper, where there is no technical impossibility, small fonts, justified alignment, and the use of only uppercase or only lowercase letters are avoided. Line spacing is chosen to be as generous as possible. The typeface used allows letters and digits to be easily distinguished from one another.
(7) The bank ensures that contracts relating to banking services are accessible on the bank's websites in video formats with audio narration and sign language interpretation. Information and documents delivered to the customer, such as contracts relating to banking services, account statements, PINs and passwords, are provided to customers with disabilities on request, with the necessary security, in different formats such as Braille, audio narration, or video with sign language interpretation.
(8) Persons with discernment who submit to the bank where they are a customer the original of a document showing a disability rate of 40% or more, or a copy certified by the bank, are considered persons with disabilities within the scope of this Regulation. Persons aged 70 and over who have legal capacity may benefit from the rights granted to persons with disabilities under this Regulation without making any notification to the bank where they are a customer.
(9) The bank retains the information on the disability status of customers with disabilities who have submitted documents to it under paragraph eight. Informing the customer about the rights granted to persons with disabilities under this Regulation is the responsibility of the bank.
(10) The bank is responsible for ensuring the confidentiality of the information it holds on the disability status of persons. It does not share this information with anyone, protects it against unauthorized access, and limits its personnel's access to this information according to the principle of least privilege.
(11) The bank cannot charge its customers with disabilities any additional fee for the accessibility-enhancing or informational services it provides under this Regulation.
PART THREE
ATM Devices
General principles on the accessibility of services offered through ATM devices
ARTICLE 5 – (1) ATM screens are selected so as to prevent the image quality from deteriorating or becoming invisible as a result of factors such as light and darkness.
(2) The ATM and its surroundings are adequately lit, while ensuring that the light does not adversely affect the eyes of the customer using the ATM.
(3) ATM control keys are positioned in accordance with the telephone standard. The keys are positioned with sufficient space so that they cannot be confused with one another in terms of size and the distance between them. The keys are made to require minimal physical movement and force so that using them does not pose difficulty for customers with disabilities.
(4) The cash dispensing and cash deposit slots, card and receipt slots, and the headphone jack are designed and positioned so that customers with disabilities can reach and use them easily and safely.
(5) The bank offers all customers the same level of privacy; it takes measures to ensure the confidentiality of the personal or critical information that customers with disabilities provide while using the ATM or receive from the ATM.
(6) Where information on the customer's disability status is available at the bank, customers with disabilities use all ATMs installed in Turkiye, at a minimum to check balances on their own accounts, withdraw cash, deposit cash, inquire about credit card debt and pay credit card debt, without being subject to any additional cost or fee. The necessary infrastructure is provided so that these transactions can be carried out using both debit cards and credit cards.
Access for customers with orthopedic disabilities
ARTICLE 6 – (1) For an ATM suitable for use by customers with orthopedic disabilities, the following are ensured:
a) The ATM complies with the accessibility standards,
b) There is sufficient maneuvering space in front of the ATM to reach the ATM and turn back in a wheelchair,
c) The height of the ATM is suitable for reaching the ATM keyboard from a wheelchair,
d) The ATM is positioned with sufficient space under the keyboard so that a wheelchair can easily approach the ATM; where this is not possible, sufficient space is provided in front of the ATM to approach it from the side,
e) If there is a step or a difference in level in front of the ATM, a suitable ramp or another suitable arrangement is provided for access to the ATM.
shall be ensured.
(2) Taking into account the number, addresses and circumstances of its customers with disabilities, as well as the locations of other banks' ATMs suitable for use by customers with orthopedic disabilities, the bank divides the places where it provides ATM services into regions and ensures that at least one of the ATM devices in each region is suitable for use by customers with orthopedic disabilities. The bank also ensures that the designated ATM is accessible in terms of centrality and environmental conditions, and that it can perform the same functions as the ATM with the most functions among the devices in the region.
(3) The bank ensures that at least two out of every 100 ATMs it operates are suitable for use by customers with orthopedic disabilities, by bringing them into compliance with the provisions of this article.
(4) Banks locate their ATMs suitable for use by customers with orthopedic disabilities in different provinces within the framework of the coordination carried out by the Banks Association of Turkiye and the Participation Banks Association of Turkiye.
(5) ATMs suitable for use by customers with orthopedic disabilities are announced, together with their addresses and access details, by the Banks Association of Turkiye, the Participation Banks Association of Turkiye and the banks through their websites and, where available, mobile applications.
Access for customers with visual impairments
ARTICLE 7 – (1) ATMs suitable for use by customers with visual impairments have a voice menu function for providing information such as warnings and instructions shown on the screen, confirmations requested for the customer's inputs, and error messages.
(2) The privacy of the voice menu service on ATMs is ensured. On ATMs, the voice menu is offered through an integrally accessible technology such as a headphone jack or a telephone handset. An option to turn the ATM screen off is offered before the transaction or at any stage of it.
(3) Within the scope of the voice menu on ATMs, at a minimum the balance inquiry, cash withdrawal, cash deposit, credit card debt inquiry and credit card debt payment transactions are included.
(4) It is ensured that the symbols on the keys required by the voice menus on ATMs are embossed and can be distinguished from other keys by touch.
(5) It is ensured that starting the voice menu on ATMs is easily discoverable and that it can be used without requiring additional training. If the voice menu is offered through headphones, the voice menu starts automatically when the headphones are plugged in and ends automatically when they are unplugged.
(6) The voice menu on ATMs has a repeat feature, and the customer is allowed to adjust the volume.
(7) Care is taken to ensure that the phrases used for the voice menu and the order of the menu are standard across all banks. The coordination in this regard is carried out by the Banks Association of Turkiye and the Participation Banks Association of Turkiye.
(8) For access to ATMs, tactile walking surface indicators on the ground that serve for guidance and are integrated with the surrounding installations are used.
(9) The bank brings all the ATMs it operates into conformity with the provisions of this article so that they are suitable for use by customers with visual impairments.
(10) Among ATMs located side by side or less than 50 meters apart, it is sufficient for only one to comply with the provisions of this article. The other ATMs within such physical distance are not required to comply with this article.
PART FOUR
Branches, Debit and Credit Cards, POS Devices,
Internet Banking and Call Centers
General principles on the accessibility of services offered at branches
ARTICLE 8 – (1) It is ensured that branches comply with the accessibility standards.
(2) Branches and services are arranged so that customers with disabilities can access all services offered at the branch without needing the assistance of another person.
(3) It is ensured that customers with disabilities can benefit from the services at the branch on a priority basis.
(4) Customers with visual impairments may sign the contract after exercising their rights to obtain information about and review contracts relating to banking services. In this context, no different practice is applied to customers with disabilities without the person's request.
(5) The bank encourages branch personnel to learn sign language. If there is no personnel at the branch who knows sign language, the bank provides video-based remote support to enable communication with the customer in sign language.
Access of customers with visual impairments to services offered with debit and credit cards
ARTICLE 9 – (1) Except for payments made at an ATM, for online payments made by card, the card issuer sends customers with visual impairments who have notified the bank of their disability the amount paid via a text message in a form that can be read by a screen reader program.
(2) For transactions that have a financial effect on the account of a customer who has notified the bank of their visual impairment and that are carried out at an ATM without using the voice menu, information about the transaction is sent to the customer via a text message in a form that can be read by a screen reader program.
(3) The text message is sent before the amount of the transaction is posted to the account of the customer with a disability or immediately after it is posted.
General principles on the accessibility of services offered through POS devices
ARTICLE 10 – (1) The control keys of the POS device are positioned in accordance with the telephone standard. The keys are positioned with sufficient space so that they cannot be confused with one another in terms of size and the distance between them. Embossed or similar markings are used on some of the keys on the device to make it easier for customers with visual impairments to use. The keys are made to require minimal physical movement and force so that using them does not pose difficulty for customers with disabilities.
(2) POS screens are selected so as to prevent the image quality from deteriorating or becoming invisible as a result of factors such as light and darkness.
Access of customers with visual impairments to internet banking
ARTICLE 11 – (1) It is ensured that internet banking and mobile banking applications comply with the accessibility standards.
(2) It is ensured, with the necessary security, that one-time passwords sent by text message are compatible with screen reader programs.
General principles on the accessibility of services offered through call centers
ARTICLE 12 – (1) Transactions such as obtaining or changing a password are also offered to the customer through a method other than the call center.
(2) Banks that provide call center services offer their customers with hearing impairments a secure online messaging channel over the internet, or a video-based remote interpreter service, through which they can get help and report a lost or stolen card.
(3) During the identity verification applied through the call center to customers who have notified the bank of their disability, a mechanism suitable for the customer's disability status is used. It is ensured that the time allowed for keypad entry to customers with visual impairments is long enough to enable the customer to make the entry.
PART FIVE
Transitional and Final Provisions
Transition period
TEMPORARY ARTICLE 1 – (1) The bank brings its existing services, activities and systems into conformity with the provisions of this Regulation by 1/1/2018. Services, activities and systems offered after the effective date must comply with the provisions of this Regulation.
(2) As of the date this Regulation is published, for existing ATMs, compliance with Article 7 is not required if the confirm, cancel and correct keys and the 5 key have embossed symbols.
Entry into force
ARTICLE 13 – (1) This Regulation enters into force on 1/1/2017.
Enforcement
ARTICLE 14 – (1) The provisions of this Regulation are enforced by the President of the Banking Regulation and Supervision Agency (BRSA).
