Thales developed a solution for people with impaired vision in their daily payment experiences. It vocalizes each step of a transaction and is now certified by Visa and Mastercard.

Developed in collaboration with its partner Handsome, a French Fintech specialized in inclusive solutions for people with disabilities, Thales decided to use its innovation to offer inclusive solutions in payment, according to a press release published early December. The Voice Payment Card users can benefit through simply installing an app on their mobile phone, which is uniquely associated with the card. Each time they make a payment, the mobile app vocalizes the amount of the transaction before letting users validate it with their secret code.

The Thales Voice Payment Card works as a connected device that gets the amount from the point of sales terminal and communicates it to the mobile app via Bluetooth. The customer can then hear the information either through the phone’s speaker or through earphones. The solution is about to be commercialized soon by several banks.

“At Thales we know innovation has the potential to solve a multitude of issues. That’s why, with the support of Handsome and based on Thales’ key expertise in developing secure and convenient payment solutions, we decided to tackle concerns faced by blind and visually impaired people,” said Bertrand Knopf, Vice President Banking and Payment Services at Thales.

“Since then, it appeared that the solution has proven to be useful for other disabilities. All in all, we are thrilled to see our innovations contribute to building more sustainable and responsible payment solutions,” he added.