About | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline Law Journal Library | HeinOnline

131 Banking L.J. 185 (2014)
Making a Virtual Bank ADA Compliant

handle is hein.journals/blj131 and id is 189 raw text is: MAKING A VIRTUAL BANK ADA COMPLIANT
HEATHER L. HANSCHE AND JUDY T.CHEN
This article outlines the reasons website disability access should be addressed
by banks - not only as good business practice, but to mitigate litigation risk,
reputational damage, regulatory enforcement action and the potential new
Department ofJustice regulations expanding the coverage of the Americans with
Disabilities Act to websites.
Millions of people have disabilities that affect their use of the Internet.
People who are blind or have low vision may be the most affected by
inaccessible information in electronic technology but people with
auditory, physical, speech, cognitive and motor disabilities may also be affected.
There are assistive technologies that allow people with disabilities to access web-
sites, for example, people with mobility impairments may use assistive technol-
ogy that allows them to control software with verbal commands. Screen readers
read text aloud as it appears on the computer screen. However web developers
must specifically design websites to be compatible with these tools. Not all dis-
abilities can be addressed by assistive technology. Individuals who are deaf or
hard of hearing may require captioning of streaming videos and people with
memory or cognitive impairments may be affected by complex websites that
lack navigational headings or links that would make them accessible - both
which can be addressed by website design.
Over half of adults in the United States currently bank online, estab-
lishing this as an important and a desired banking service. Yet many banks
Heather L. Hansche is a partner in the Banking Department of Chapman and
Cutler LLP and is a member of the firm's Consumer Financial Services and Bank
Regulatory Group.Judy T.Chen is an associate in the Banking Department of
Chapman and Cutler. The authors can be reached at hansche@chapman.com
and judychen@chapman.com, respectively.

185

What Is HeinOnline?

HeinOnline is a subscription-based resource containing thousands of academic and legal journals from inception; complete coverage of government documents such as U.S. Statutes at Large, U.S. Code, Federal Register, Code of Federal Regulations, U.S. Reports, and much more. Documents are image-based, fully searchable PDFs with the authority of print combined with the accessibility of a user-friendly and powerful database. For more information, request a quote or trial for your organization below.



Short-term subscription options include 24 hours, 48 hours, or 1 week to HeinOnline.

Contact us for annual subscription options:

Already a HeinOnline Subscriber?

profiles profiles most