Banking without barriers

[GRI FS14] The Bank’s purpose is to dismantle digital and physical obstacles to financial and non-financial services. Bank Millennium is not only a financial services centre for clients. It is also the first access channel for other services, e.g. in the mobile application clients can buy tickets for urban transport, pay for parking or buy car insurance simply by scanning the code in their registration document. Remote contact with Polish government offices is also possible through internet banking. The Bank is striving for all our clients, including clients with disabilities to have convenient access to financial services. That is why many facilities have been implemented for blind and visually impaired people and people who use wheelchairs for their mobility.

• Bank Millennium’s website, the Millenet internet banking system and the Bank Millennium mobile app are continuously being adapted to meet the needs of blind and visually impaired individuals. The websites are written in simple and easily understandable language for the user and may be read by automated text readers. A visually impaired user can use the website with a keyboard – the mouse is not needed to navigate the portal. Moreover, the site has a text zoom feature and is designed for high-contrast reading.
• Users of smartphones with fingerprint readers may log in to our mobile app with a fingerprint. In the same manner, they may also validate online card transactions using 3D-Secure. Also, owners of iPhone X or newer models may log in using the FaceID facial recognition feature. Our mobile app is adapted to the needs of blind and visually impaired persons owing to its compatibility with access-enhancing services such as Google TalkBack (Android) and VoiceOver (iOS) that enable the presentation of information using speech. Clients can also use the assistance of a chatbot in the Bank’s application. Our automatic assistant available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week may serve as a valuable guide to daily banking. Clients can use the assistance of Milli in Bank Millennium’s mobile application. It is capable not only of greeting and responding to various questions, it can also perform orders such as submitting a wire transfer. These types of solutions based on artificial intelligence significantly contribute to enhancing the inclusiveness of the Bank’s services.
• Bank Millennium is one of the first companies to begin adapting its website to the needs of people with disabilities. In recent years Bank Millennium has been honoured with an award for its “Website without Obstacles” conferred by the “We Are Seen” Foundation in the 9th edition of the contest for ensuring that its website is accessible to people with disabilities. The Bank received an award in the TOP CDR contest entitled “Technologically Responsible Firm” (first place in the Digitalization category and the public’s award) for the digitalization of services and banking without obstacles in April 2020.
• In response to the increased need to use online services in connection with the pandemic, the EDUPORTAL education portal was created on the Bank’s website. It is available at https://www.bankmillennium.pl/en/firststeponline and directly from the main page in the Support tab. The campaign entitled “First Online Step” encouraging people to use digital channels was formed in parallel. Short films are an important part of Eduportal. They differ from the instructional films available till now because they employ advisors who explain the core processes in a clear and accessible manner. The presence of a live person is in particular supposed to break down barriers when dealing with users who prefer personal contact with an advisor and who are afraid of automatic or remote elements. The selected actors have friendly physiognomy, a warm tenor and a calm tone of voice – they slowly explain, step-by-step, how to use Millenet and the mobile application.
• Children’s app – in 2021 Bank Millennium made a special version of the mobile application available to children aged 7 to 12. This app is not only a helpful gadget, but it is also a tool to introduce children to the world of finance and use technology safely. During activation the application recognizes the user and adapts the version to his or her age. The children’s app supports payments by phone or BLIK. It is friendly to the youngest users and it was designed together with them – it has a simplified menu, children-friendly language and a made-for-children design. At the same time, it gives parents total control over a child’s spending, special transaction limits and the option for a child to block a card, and for the parents to block a card using their application. The app grows with the child. After turning 13 years of age the version of the app installed in the birthday child’s phone automatically changes to the currently available version for people up to 18 years of age offering a greater number of services.
• ATMs and deposit machines – disabled people with movement impairments can use the numeric keypad instead of function buttons next to the screen, which means that they do not have to reach too high. In addition, ATM’s number keypad makes it easier to use the device also by disabled people with vision impairments. After headphones are connected to the ATM, the user may enter instructions through voice messages. Additionally, persons with vision impairments may use a special black and white screen mode to enhance contrast and the legibility of displayed messages. 100% of Bank Millennium’s own ATMs are customized to meet the needs of people with disabilities. The network of deposit machines was extended by another 107 machines in July (deposit functions were launched in Euronet’s ATMs located in Bank Millennium’s outlets).
• Access to outlets with architectural barriers – nearly 70% of the Bank’s branches are accessible to people with disabilities. When modifying and upgrading its branches, the Bank pays attention to eliminating architectural barriers.
• Customer service desks with seating offering wheelchair access are in place in all of our outlets, while in 190 branches (roughly 46%) this also applies to cash handling services.
• Service over the phone – clients using the Bank’s Hotline can use the voice command feature during the call instead of using the phone’s keypad.
• Easier signing of agreements – blind or visually impaired persons or people who cannot read can still sign an agreement with the Bank on their own in the presence of two employees of the outlet and – upon the client’s express wish – a witness the client considers to be a trusted individual. In such cases, an outlet employee can also read the agreement aloud and/or in the case of customers who cannot write, they can sign using an ink fingerprint.
• Clients with special needs have the right to receive the general terms and conditions of agreements and bylaws in forms that make it easier for them to familiarize themselves with their contents, e.g.: a document prepared using a large font size, an audio file or a file prepared in the Braille language.
• Service standards for persons with disabilities – detailed guidelines which are binding on the employees of all of the Bank’s outlets.
• The Bank is also extending the idea of a world without barriers to other areas in which it is active, i.e. in patronage of culture. During Millennium Docs Against Gravity, Poland’s largest documentary film festival, cinema films were available with audio description to make it easier for people with vision impairments to access the world of culture.

Bank representatives also participate in the work of the Polish Bank Association to enhance the accessibility of sites and services to people with disabilities.

[GRI FS13] Access to financial services in low-populated or economically disadvantaged areas