Internet banking outcry: All banks should have a 'neuro-diverse' person on their board
Thursday, 8 April 2021
Every bank should have a neuro non-typical person on their board, or their technology sub-committee, says the chairman of Dylsexia New Zealand, Guy Pope-Mayell.
MPs were told on Wednesday that the rush to ditch queues and close bank branches, and to force everyone to transact electronically was happening without consideration for as many as one million “neuro-diverse” people living with conditions like dyslexia and traumatic brain injuries.
National MP Andrew Bayly petitioned the Finance and Expenditure Select Committee for an investigation into whether the headlong rush to online banking was creating barriers for people with a neuro-difference managing their money lives.
Pope-Mayell, who is also a director of snack-maker Cookie Time, supported Bayly’s call for an inquiry, but he said the “lived experience” of neuro-diverse people should be reflected on bank boards, and their committees overseeing bank technology.
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“Absolutely they should, and certainly on their committees. Ideally, on the board, but definitely on committees where you have some key decision-making,” Pope-Mayell said.
Internet banking could be stressful for neuro-different people, he said.
Stuff contacted the big five banks, but none indicated they intended to include neuro-diversity on their board, or committee hiring policies.
Bayly told the select committee that he had been prompted by the story of a dyslexic Pukekohe man told by his bank to dive 90 kilometres to do his banking because he was too afraid to bank online, for fear of transposing digits and losing money.
His petition, submitted early last year, was initially around the Government preventing banks and government departments ditching cheques.
Bayly said British MPs successfully prevented British banks from ditching cheques over similar concerns.
But as the end of cheques approached , Bayly changed tack to call for an inquiry to help ensure people with conditions likes dyslexia, or mild traumatic brain injuries were not left behind.
The big four Australian-owned banks have said they will phase out cheques this year, while state-owned Kiwibank stopped issuing cheques last year, saying at the time that 99 per cent of its customer payments were made by other methods.
ANZ said it would stop accepting cheques at the end of May and BNZ on July 31. ASB would stop issuing cheque books on May 28 and Westpac would go cheque-free on June 25.
Bayly asked that the select committee undertake an inquiry to assess whether government agencies and entities, including Inland Revenue, ACC and KiwiBank would offer adequate provisions to allow people who were unable to, could not afford to, or it was not safe for them to pay for goods and services digitally.
The inquiry should consider the planned closures of bank branches in rural and smaller communities, he said.
Bayly said committee chairman Duncan Webb, a Labour MP, told him Labour MPs would be voting against the petition.
Webb said he did not recall telling Bayly that.
“The issue is a real one, and I’m keen to see it addressed,” Webb said.
He said he had expressed frustration to Bayly that he had brought witnesses to speak, as time had not been set aside at the committee to hear them.
But, he said, as it was an important issue, the committee had allowed Bayly, and representatives from Blind Low Vision NZ, Grey Power, and the Dyslexia Society, to take more than the 10 minutes scheduled to have their say.
Webb said even if it refused Bayly’s original petition, which he said was very narrowly focused on requiring ACC and Inland Revenue to continue accepting cheques, it could decide to hold an inquiry.
The committee has 11 MPs sitting on it, six of whom are Labour MPs.
What the banks said
Stuff asked all banks about whether they consulted with neuro-diverse representative organisations like Dyslexia NZ on optimising internet banking, and online systems for neuro-diverse people.
We also asked for their response to Pope-Mayell’s call for neuro-diversity on their boards.
All the banks which responded said they had diversity and inclusion policies, and all said they would like to work with Dyslexia NZ.
ANZ: Spokesman Stefan Herrick said the bank worked with a pan-disability accessibility consultancy on its digital platforms, and was aiming to adhere to the global guidelines on best practice on design and development, including wide-ranging user research and testing.
The bank had a committee dedicated to improving the accessibility of ANZ for customers and staff, and within its digital design team, it had staff responsible for advocating for the importance of accessibility.
The bank also hoped to draw on neurodiversity work done at its Australian parent, including the Spectrum Programme for people with Autism.
Kiwibank: Spokeswoman Kara Tait said Kiwibank had “many options in place, both non-digital and digital, and can work one-on-one with customers that require special assistance”.
Kiwibank had also engaged a pan-disability digital accessibility consultancy to conduct a formal audit of its website to ensure it was accessible for different abilities including neurodiversity, she said.
“Recommendations from the audit continue to be adopted and we are actively considering these in our design practices,” she said.
“We are currently conducting a further audit of our internet and mobile banking channels.”
Westpac: Spokesman Max Bania said the bank had an “extra care programme team”, and a staff-led accessibility action group, which consulted with people across the business to improve the banking experience for people with disabilities.
BNZ: Spokesman Michael Burgess said the bank worked with a range of disability and vulnerability representative organisations to help ensure its services were easy to use for as many customers as possible.
“We value diversity and have neurodiverse people in leadership positions and represented on committees. We have work underway to help us better support our people and customers who are neuro-diverse,” he said.