Bank Rakyat Partners With Mastercard To Launch Touch Card For Visually Impaired

KUALA LUMPUR, May 7 (Bernama) -- Bank Rakyat and Mastercard have collaborated to integrate Mastercard’s Touch Card feature into a selected range of bank cards to help blind and partially sighted cardholders identify their credit, debit and prepaid cards.

The Touch Card was designed with accessibility in mind to bring a greater sense of security, inclusivity, and independence to the 2.2 billion people around the world with visual impairments, with the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) reporting there are almost 64,000 visually impaired people in Malaysia.

Mastercard Malaysia and Brunei country manager Beena Pothen said the company is committed to building a more inclusive economy that supports people from all walks of life.

“The integration of Mastercard’s Touch Card design with Bank Rakyat, the first Islamic bank in Malaysia to adopt this feature, reflects Mastercard’s dedication to working with like-minded partners globally to enhance accessibility and inclusivity,” she said in a statement.

Bank Rakyat chief executive officer Ahmad Shahril Mohd Shariff said the introduction of the Touch Card reflects the bank’s commitment to improving banking experiences for all Malaysians, including those with visual impairments.

“Financial services should be inclusive and accessible to everyone,” he said.

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This collaboration is further strengthened by the support of non-governmental organisations (NGOs) such as the Persatuan Orang-Orang Cacat Penglihatan Islam Malaysia (Pertis), which advocates for the visually impaired community and champions initiatives like the Touch Card to promote financial accessibility.

-- BERNAMA