Wed Dec 04 04:48:09 UTC 2024: **Indian Finance Sector Lags in Digital Accessibility for Disabled, Study Finds**
**MUMBAI, December 4, 2024** – A new study reveals a significant gap in digital accessibility for people with disabilities within India’s top 100 financial companies. The research, conducted by BarrierBreak and the National Centre for Promotion of Employment for Disabled People (NCPEDP), assessed the websites of banks, insurance firms, payment gateways, and investment companies.
The analysis, using automated tools and expert review, uncovered an average of 91.55 accessibility errors per homepage. The insurance sector fared worst, with an average of 120.73 errors, while international banks showed the fewest issues (33.4). The most common problems included inadequate ARIA implementation (100% of pages), improperly structured headings (97%), image accessibility issues (96%), poor color contrast (91%), and flawed link descriptions (90%).
While the Indian government has issued accessibility guidelines for the banking and insurance sectors, and the Reserve Bank of India has issued guidelines for digital payment systems, the study highlights the urgent need for broader implementation. The report cited examples of companies such as Zerodha (well-structured content), Axis Bank and the Reserve Bank of India (accurate image descriptions), American Express and MobiKwik (good color contrast), and PhonePe, CSC Cloud, and Cred (clear link descriptions) as examples of best practices. Several banks including HSBC India, ICICI Direct, and Barclays India showed good keyboard accessibility.
The findings underscore the need for financial institutions to prioritize digital inclusion and empower users with disabilities. The report serves as a benchmark for future improvements and emphasizes the considerable work remaining to achieve truly accessible digital services for all.
First Piper 