Our partner Mastercard has launched a technical innovation for visually impaired people. Together with UniCredit Bank Austria, the Touch Card was recently launched.TM presented – a payment card that can be recognized by touch thanks to a notch.
With this development, Mastercard and UniCredit Bank Austria are jointly setting a milestone towards a more inclusive society and at the same time strengthening their commitment to accessible technologies.
Different notches on the side of the card—round for debit cards and square for credit cards—enable blind and visually impaired people to identify their payment card independently and in seconds. This is possible worldwide, both when paying online and in stores.
The Touch CardTM is not only a barrier-free innovation for blind and visually impaired people, but also a practical solution for anyone who wants to be able to recognize their cards immediately, even in poor light or confusing situations.
According to the journal The Lancet, around 253 million people worldwide live with visual impairments, Of these, approximately 30 million are in Europe and about 300,000 in Austria. Forecasts show that the number of visually impaired people worldwide could triple by 2050. This is due to an aging population and changing lifestyles. The Touch CardTM This addresses not only a current need, but also a social development.
Mastercard pursues the goal of promoting inclusion and equal opportunities worldwide. In Austria, Mastercard is committed to the inclusion of visually impaired people in addition to the introduction of the Touch Card.TM through art education programs at the Belvedere. Among other things, multisensory tours are offered for sighted, blind, and visually impaired visitors. In addition, three tactile reliefs make artworks tactilely accessible: "The kiss“ by Gustav Klimt, Egon Schiele’s “Crouching human couple (The Family) and Master IPs "Fall of ManArt historical information about the paintings in Braille complements the tactile image structure.
Tactile relief from Gustav Klimt's “The Kiss”, photo: Johannes Stoll/Belvedere