While there are some, perhaps understandable, worries about people’s reliance on technology, there is a very good side to it. Things are becoming easier to do for people who need things to be easier to do, and it’s all thanks to accessibility tech. Here, we are going to take a look at some of the things that have become more accessible thanks to technology.
Financial Services
Finance has gone from being something that a relatively large number of people had problems accessing to one that is a lot easier to get involved with thanks to accessibility technology.
One of the things promoting accessibility and inclusion in the world of finance is cryptocurrency. The subset of crypto called decentralized finance (DeFi) is all about financial inclusion and bringing financial services to the millions of people who are unbanked but still have a mobile phone. One of the ways it does this is by allowing cross-border payments without commission fees. If, for instance, someone makes Ethereum deposits in a wallet, the person whose wallet it is can withdraw them without having to pay an expensive foreign exchange fee and, better yet, they can usually do it far quicker than with traditional fiat banking.
Moving onto more commonplace facets of finance, microloans can give low-income people who otherwise might not be accepted by financial institutions access to the credit they need for their businesses to succeed, while the likes of digital wallets and app-embedded payment options can also make things easier for people outside the financial mainstream to gain access to money.
It isn’t just those people who can’t get a bank account who benefit from new technology either. Mobile banking apps can be a godsend for people with mobility issues or who live in underserved rural areas by letting them contact their bank and check their accounts from their homes. Meanwhile, Biometric authentication can help people who might have difficulty remembering their login details and can boost security, which protects vulnerable users.
Education
Education could be something of a lottery, with where you live having a big impact on how you can learn, but things are changing as tech is helping to make it more accessible.
For example, if you want to learn about something and it is available in an online e-learning course, then, no matter where you are in the world, you can study it, provided you have an internet connection. Students in remote areas, or places with low physical accessibility to education, can take lessons when previously they would have had to live close enough to the school or college.
Artificial intelligence can actually prove useful in the world of education, at least in theory. Some platforms can analyse someone’s learning style and tailor their courses to best suit the student. Similarly, they can adjust reading levels, break topics down, or display them in a way that can help students with the likes of dyslexia, while AI translations can take a lesson and make it available in each class member’s native language.
Moving from AI to the worlds of virtual and augmented reality, these two platforms can also heighten access to education. AR can boost engagement by introducing interactive elements to textbooks, while VR can give students the chance to experiment with practical skills in a safe environment they would not otherwise be able to access in a traditional classroom.
Shopping
Perhaps the sectors where the growth of accessibility tech is most noticeable are those of retail and e-commerce. These areas have been at the forefront of making things easier for their customers, and here are some of the ways they’ve done it.
Online shopping sites follow web content accessibility guidelines (WCAG) in order to make themselves easier to navigate for people with visual impairments. This means that they are going to be compatible with things like screen readers, feature adjustable font sizes and the option to simplify their layouts, and offer keyboard-led navigation.
The way customers pay can also fall into the accessibility bracket. For instance, one-click payments reduce the need to fill out payment forms every time someone wants to make a purchase, which helps people who might find that difficult.
And, when it comes to getting items delivered, the growth of same-day shipping and on-demand delivery apps are incredibly useful for customers who, again, are going to find it a challenge to get to a shop, either because they are in a remote area or because they face mobility challenges.
