Recently, we scanned the websites of 30 of the top US National and Community banks for accessibility. The purpose was to discover how easy these banking websites were to access and use for people with disabilities. As well as to highlight the biggest barriers to digital banking. The results revealed that there is work to be done:
Read on to discover our findings in detail.
Financial services should be able to be accessed and used by people with disabilities. 1 in 4 American adults has a disability. When financial services fail to meet the needs of these users, it’s a problem.
When it comes to managing personal finances, research shows that 18% of households with a disability are unbanked. This compares to just 6% of those without a disability. 28% of unbanked households with a disability say that a lack of trust in banks is a reason why.
Trust is built in many ways. As humans, we develop a gut feeling at first impression. In today’s digital-first economy, websites are often the first point of contact. Those that fail to meet the needs of people with disabilities risk leaving this audience feeling left out. Building trust begins to fail at the first hurdle.
Not only that, according to the National Disability Institute, households with a disability are less likely to use digital banking.
Less than half access their accounts online, compared to 73% of those without disabilities. When financial services aren’t digitally accessible, freedom of choice in how users manage their personal finances is removed. Freedom and trust are 2 key areas to any good relationship.
Given the existing research, we wanted to discover how accessible banking websites were. We wanted to highlight common accessibility problems, and offer our support to help financial organizations improve.
We scanned 30 of the top US National and Community banks for accessibility (15 of each, based on revenue). To do this we used our web accessibility checker, the ReachDeck Auditor. It scans for accessibility errors, readability problems and broken links;
In September 2021, we scanned a total of:
The results found that there’s work to be done to improve.
When it comes to accessibility, our results found that none of the banks fully met WCAG Level AA. WCAG AA tackles the most common barriers for disabled users. As such, it’s recommended that organizations meet WCAG Level AA, at minimum. In fact, most legislation that mentions WCAG calls for compliance at this level.
Across the national banks reviewed, we found:
That’s an average of 12 WCAG AA errors per page. However some websites had far more errors. For example one national bank had more than 28 errors per page.
Across the community banks reviewed, we found:
That’s an average of 13 WCAG AA errors per page. Again, some websites had far more accessibility errors. For example, one community bank had an average of 52 errors per page .
Across both community and national banking websites, there were common WCAG AA errors. These included:
Our results found that the web content across all 30 banks would be considered ‘Fairly difficult to read’. That is, according to the Flesch Reading Ease Score.
As we said earlier, the Flesch Reading Ease Score is a formula used to measure readability. A score of 100 means content is very easy to read. A score of 0 means text is very difficult to read.
Community banks scored an average of 55/100 for readability. National banks scored an average of 51/100 for readability. With this score, their web content is written to grade 10-12 level. Considering that 54% of US adults are reading below 6th grade level, many Americans are being left out.
Not only that, the average American is likely struggling to read their essential information. Across all web content scanned, we found the average reading age to be 19 years. In the US, the average reading age is between 12-14 years old.
Readability is affected by sentence length and the use of jargon words.
We found that, on average:
Jargon words are buzzwords or over-complicated phrases. When these words are used, they can affect how well someone understands your content. In banking this can have a huge impact.
By removing jargon words, financial organizations can make content easier to understand. This will help all visitors to feel more confident about using online banking services. Including those with low literacy levels and cognitive disabilities.
Long sentences are sentences that are 21 words or more. The longer the sentence, the harder it is to read and understand. According to the American Press Institute, at 8 words long, readers can understand 100% of the content. At 14 words, they understand 90%. But at 43 words long, understanding drops to below 10%.
Our results found that:
By keeping content simple, short and clear, it’s easier and quicker to read and understand, for everyone.
We want to help you to make sure every user can access, understand and use your information. Join our challenge and improve accessibility in your organization. The first step? Discover the accessibility and readability of your own website. We’ll help!
For a limited time, we’re offering financial organizations the chance to book a free, no obligation website audit.
"Digital accessibility is just as important as physical accessibility. It improves the entire user experience online. Improving accessibility for some usually improves the experience for all. I encourage financial institutions to improve their accessibility and readability to ensure all people have access to critical financial services. The Texthelp team wants to help them make this positive change. Together, we can make the digital world an accessible place for all." - Martin McKay, CEO, Texthelp