Personal video consultation in sign language:
UniCredit Bank Austria receives accessibility award
- UniCredit Bank Austria received the Zero Project Award 2018 on Accessibility for its service offering in sign language
- UniCredit Bank Austria provides personal video consultation in Austrian Sign Language via SmartBanking
UniCredit Bank Austria received the Zero Project Award 2018 on Accessibility for its SmartBanking in Sign Language. The consultation in sign language was honoured as “Innovative Practice 2018 on Accessibility” at the Zero Project Conference in Vienna. UniCredit Bank Austria is the first and only financial institution in Austria that provides consultations in Austrian Sign Language via SmartBanking. In doing so, UniCredit Bank Austria takes an important step to raise awareness for the needs of hearing impaired people in Austria.
Robert Zadrazil, CEO of UniCredit Bank Austria: “As a pioneer of barrier-free service offerings, we are particularly happy about this acknowledgement at the Zero Project Conference this year. As a leading bank in Austria, we don’t just see it as our social responsibility but also as an economic necessity to make our products and services accessible to all of our customers.”
SmartBanking in Sign Language allows deaf customers to receive the well-established UniCredit Bank Austria consulting services via video conferencing. The SmartBanking concept is very simple: Customers can do their bank transactions via video conferencing no matter where they are. They can easily contact their banker via tablet, smartphone, or laptop.
SmartBanking in Sign Language
UniCredit Bank Austria expands its online branch with full service offerings: Currently there are already about 300 employees, including 100 real estate experts and 100 investment experts. Consultants specifically trained in sign language are available for consultations. They offer consultations and support in sign language throughout Austria and independent of location via webcam as part of the online branch SmartBanking services. The service is free of charge and available Mondays through Fridays from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. by appointment.
An employee, who is soon to be a state-certified interpreter for sign language, can not only conduct consultations herself but can also interpret simultaneously between Hearing impaired customers in sign language and other experts – for example, real estate experts or investment experts.
UniCredit Bank Austria as a pioneer in accessibility
“Bank Austria already started many years ago to pay considerable attention to the great potential of people with disabilities, and also to perform the bank’s social responsibility in this area,” Zadrazil concludes.
More about SmartBanking in sign language:
https://www.bankaustria.at/privatkunden-online-services-smartbanking.jsp
The Zero Project Conference
The Zero Project was initiated by the Essl Foundation in 2008 and focuses on the rights of people with disabilities worldwide. The most innovative and effective solutions to problems that people with disabilities face are shared on this platform. The annual Zero Project Conference takes place at the United Nations Vienna Headquarters and brings together roughly 500 participants – decision-makers and opinion leaders from all areas of society – from more than 70 countries.
Inquiries: UniCredit Bank Austria Media Relations
Franziska Schenker, Tel.: +43 (0)5 05 05-51417;
Email: franziska.schenker@unicreditgroup.at