Empowering Visually Impaired Consumers in Retail: A Systematic Review of Accessible Payment Solutions for All

Year 2025, Volume: 25 Issue: 2, 437 - 454, 08.05.2025

Asiye Ayben Çelik

https://doi.org/10.21121/eab.20250212

Abstract

A decrease or loss of sensory ability may occur due to aging, accidents, illnesses, or congenital conditions. This underscores the critical importance of adopting an “inclusive approach to differences”, as a principle that businesses must prioritize. By embracing inclusivity and a human-centered design philosophy in the development of products, businesses and individuals can achieve a “win‒win” outcome, expanding their customer base while increasing their satisfaction levels. This study aims to summarize the current state of research focusing on accessible payment systems in the literature and synthesize it with the perspectives of macrolevel stakeholders influencing regulations and good practices in the marketplace. This systematic review analyzes the literature to assess the current state of payment systems used by visually impaired consumers (VICs) and to evaluate the practices implemented by businesses in this domain. Additionally, practical insights from business operations and NGOs’ efforts to reorganize regulations are intended to provide both theoretical contributions and actionable insights for practitioners and policy makers. Key findings highlight the payment tools employed by VICs in shopping, the challenges they face, and their coping mechanisms. Furthermore, the study evaluates initiatives at the macro level, including accessible payment terminal innovations, aimed at fostering more inclusive payment experience.

Keywords

Accessibility , Accessible Payment , Consumer Normalcy , Vulnerable Consumer , Financial Inclusion

References

• Anderson, R.G., Williams, M.M., (2007). Currency design in the United States and abroad: Counterfeit deterrence and visual accessibility. Federal Reserve Bank of St. Louis Review, 8, 371-414.
• Baker, S.M. (2006). Consumer normalcy: Understanding the value of shopping through narratives of consumers with visual impairments. Journal of Retailing, 82(1), 37-50.
• Baker, S., Holland, J., Kaufman-Scarborough, C. (2007). How consumers with disabilities perceive “welcome” in retail servicescapes: A critical incident study. Journal of Services Marketing, 21, 160-173.
• Bigumigu (2023) Görme engelliler için mobil ödemeyi kolaylaştıran cihaz. Retrieved from https://bigumigu.com/haber/gorme-engelliler-icin-mobil-odemeyi-kolaylastiran-cihaz/, accessed 1 September 2024.
• Bolaños-Fernández, C. and Bacca-Cortes, E.B. (2024). Mobile application for recognizing colombian currency with audio feedback for visually impaired people. Ingeniería, 29(2), e21408. doi: 10.14483/23448393.21408.
• Borowski-Beszta, M., Borowska-Beszta, B., & Polasik, M. (2023). Digital payment services in Poland as assistive technology and empowering tool for consumers with disabilities. Disability & Society, 39(12), 3051–3073.
• Braeken, A. (2017). An improved e-payment system and its extension to a payment system for visually impaired and blind people with user anonymity. Wireless Personal Communications, 96, 563–581,
• Broekhoff, M.C., van der Cruijsen, C., Jonker, N., Reijerink, J., Umuhire, G. and Vinken, W. (2023). Digitalization of the payment system: a solution for some, a challenge for others - DNB Report, Retrieved from https://www.dnb.nl/media/v5lgqudn/impact-digitalizering_en_web.pdf .
• Broekhoff, M.C., van der Cruijsen, C., Jonker, N., de Haan, J. (2024). Toward financial inclusion: Trust in banks’ payment services among groups at risk. Economic Analysis and Policy, 82, 104-123.
• BTHaber, (2011). Engelsiz POS sahaya indi. Retrieved from https://www.bthaber.com/engelsiz-pos-sahaya-indi .
• Cambridge University, (2017). Inclusive design toolkit. Retrieved from http://www.inclusivedesigntoolkit.com
• Cash Reader, (n.d.). Cash reader - kör ve görme engelliler için mobil bir para okuma uygulaması. Retrieved from https://cashreader.app/tr/
• CNIB (n.d.). Canada’s most accessible payment terminals are now in market!. Retrieved from https://www.cnib.ca/en/news/canadas-most-accessible-payment-terminals-are-now-market?region=on&utm_source=chatgpt.com
• Creswell, J. W. (2008). Educational research Planning, conducting, and evaluating quantitative and qualitative research. (3rd ed.) Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson Education, Inc.
• Crosier, A., and Handford, A. (2012). Customer Journey Mapping as an Advocacy Tool for Disabled People: A Case Study. Social Marketing Quarterly, 18(1), 67-76.
• Çelik, A.A., Gökbunar, R., Köstepen, K.G., Tepe, G., Çelik, M., (2019). Geleneksel ve Online Perakende Çevresinde Görme Engellilerin Deneyimleri ve Çözüm Önerileri: Manisa İli Örneği Projesi. Manisa Celal Bayar Üniversitesi Araştırma Projesi, Manisa.
• Çelik, A. A. (2021). Inclusion of disabled consumers in online retail landscape: Web accessibility conformance of Turkish organized food retailers’ web sites. In C. Cobanoglu, & V. Della Corte (Eds.), Advances in global services and retail management (pp. 1–9). USF M3 Publishing. doi: 10.5038/9781955833035.
• Çelik, A.A. and Yakut, E. (2021). Consumers with vulnerabilities: in-store satisfaction of visually impaired and legally blind. Journal of Services Marketing, 35/6, 821–833.
• Dai, J., Miedema, J., Hernandez, S. Sutton-Lalani, A., and Moffatt, K. (2023). Cognitive Accessibility of Digital Payments: A Literature Review. In 20th International Web for All Conference (W4A ‘23), Austin, TX, USA. doi: 10.1145/3587281.3587294.
• EBU (2020). Accessible payment terminals. Retrieved from https://www.euroblind.org/campaigns-and-activities/finished-campaigns/pay-able-and-accessible-payment-terminals .
• EBU (2023). Enhancing the accessibility of payment terminals. Retrieved from https://www.euroblind.org/sites/default/files/documents/EBU%20recommendations%20for%20accessible%20payment%20terminals_final.pdf .
• ECB (European Central Bank) (2022). Accessibility to retail payments in the EU – a stock-take. Retrieved from https://www.ecb.europa.eu/paym/groups/erpb/shared/pdf/17th-ERPB-meeting/Retail_payments_accessibility.pdf?utm_source=chatgpt.com
• EPRS (2018). Assistive technologies for people with disabilities - Part II: Current and emerging Technologies. Retrieved from https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/IDAN/2018/603218/EPRS_IDA(2018)603218(ANN2)_EN.pdf.
• Falk, P. ve Campbell, C. (1997). Introduction. in P.Falk and C. Campbell eds. The Shopping Experience. (pp.1-14), London: Sage Publications.
• Government of Canada, (n.d.). The accessibility of electronic payment terminals: a summary. Retrieved from https://www.canada.ca/en/employment-social-development/programs/accessible-canada/reports/2020-accessibility-electronic-payment-terminals-summary.html#h2.9
• Guo, A., Kong, J., Rivera, M., Xu, F.F., Bigham, J.P. (2019). StateLens: A reverse engineering solution for making existing dynamic touchscreens accessible. UIST ‘19, October 20-23. doi:10.1145/3332165.3347873.
• Hernandez, L., Jonker, N., Kosse, A., (2017). Cash versus debit card: the role of budget control. Journal of Consumer Affairs, 51 (1), 91–112.
• Ingenico, (2023). Making touchscreen terminals accessible to people with a visual impairment. Retrieved from https://ingenico.com/en/newsroom/blogs/making-touchscreen-terminals-accessible-people-visual-impairment
• Kameswaran, V., Muralidhar, S.H. (2019) Cash, digital payments and accessibility - A case study from India. Proceedings of the ACM on Human-Computer Interaction, 3(CSCW), 1 – 23. doi:10.1145/3359199.
• Kara, S., İnal, Ö., Torpil, B., Cemali, M., Tatlı, İ., Akı, E. (2020). Görme engelli bireylerde para tanıma ve kullanma yöntemleri. H.Ü. Sağlık Bilimleri Fakültesi Dergisi, 7(2),191-205.
• Karsen, M., Chandra, Y.U., Juwitasary, H. (2019). Technological Factors of Mobile Payment: A Systematic Literature Review. Procedia Computer Science, 157, 489–498.
• Kaufman-Scarborough, C. ve Childers. T.L. (2009). Understanding Markets as Online Public Places: Insights from Consumers with Visual Impairments. Journal of Public Policy and Marketing, 28 (1), 16–28.
• Kurnia Ningrum, N. A., Fauzi, R. ve Suakanto, S. (2023). Designing an e-Wallet Solution for Users with Visual Impairment: A Design Thinking Perspective, 2023 6th International Conference of Computer and Informatics Engineering (IC2IE), Lombok, Indonesia, 2023, pp.181-185.
• Leyshon,A., Thrift, N. (1995). Geographies of financial exclusion: financial abandonment in Britain and the United States, Trans. Inst. Br. Geogr., 20, 312-341.
• Lin, J.-Y., Chiang, C.-L., Wu, M.-J., Yao, C.-C. and Chen, M.-C. (2020). Smart glasses application system for visually impaired people based on deep learning, in 2020 Indo – Taiwan 2nd Int. Conf. Comp. Analytics Net, 202-206. doi:10.1109/Indo-TaiwanICAN48429.2020.9181366
• Milbergs, K. (2024). ADA requirements and compliance for banks. Retrieved from https://accessiblyapp.com/blog/ada-requirements-banks/.
• Morris, J. (2024). Digital payments and financial inclusion. ICLE Issue Brief 2024-09-23, International Center for Law and Economics, Retrieved from https://laweconcenter.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/09/digital-money-and-financial-inclusion-v3.pdf.
• Oliver M. (1996). Understanding disability: From theory to practice. New York: St. Martin’s Press.
• PAL (Politika Analiz Laboratuvarları), (2020). Finansal Kapsayıcılık: Finansal teknolojilerin kapsayıcılık yoluyla oluşturabileceği ekonomik etkiler ve politika önerileri. Retrieved from https://media.iyzico.com/b/2021/05/PALREPORT_14_12_2020.pdf .
• Parvathy, V. and Durairaj, D. (2022). Adoption of mobile payment among visually impaired users in Tamil Nadu based on technology acceptance model (TAM). International Journal of Health Sciences, 5346–5361. doi: 10.53730/ijhs.v6ns3.7100.
• Pian, C. (2018). Design thinking made actionable. Retrieved from https://medium.com/the-colony/design-thinking-made-actionable-afb1ef78849.
• Pino, B., Sánchez, M. D., and Sancha, Z. (2014). Toward payment systems for all: Accessible POS. Journal of Accessibility and Design for All, 4(3), 51-70. doi:10.17411/JACCES.V4I3.51
• Ramatla, A. and Mastamet-Mason, A. (2013). The decision-making processes of visually impaired consumers in an apparel retail environment. In 2013 DEFSA conference Design Cultures: Encultured Design, 220-229.
• Raymond, M.A., Smith, H.R., Carlson, L. (2024). Being inclusive means being accessible: Problems with digital media for visually impaired consumers. Journal of Global Scholars of Marketing Science, 34(1), 5–18.
• Samuel, I., Ogunkeye, F.A., Olajube, A., Awelewa, A. (2020). Development of a Voice Chatbot for Payment Using Amazon Lex Service with Eyowo as the Payment Platform, 2020 International Conference on Decision Aid Sciences and Application (DASA), pp.104-108.
• Sarma, M. and Pais, J. (2011). Financial inclusion and development. Journal of International Development, 23, 613-625. doi:10.1002/jid.1698.
• Selimoğlu, S. (2021). Mastercard, görme engelli kişilere yönelik kart tasarımını tanıttı. Retrieved from https://www.mastercard.com/news/eemea/tr-tr/haber-merkezi/basin-bultenleri/tr-tr/2021/mastercard-gorme-engelli-kisilere-yonelik-kart-tasarimini-tanitti/.
• Singh, K., Gupta, S., Chawla, M., Rashid, G., Anand, U. Jain, R., Agarwal, A., (2023). Currency recognition system for visually impaired using a novel CNN-LSTM based hybrid approach. Multidisciplinary Advance Sciences and Technology, 2(2), 1-17.
• Singh, S., Jatana, N., Sehgal, S., Anand, R., Arunkumar, B. and Ramesh, J. V. N. (2024). Making digital payments accessible beyond sight: A usability study of upi-based smartphone applications. IEEE Access, 12, 6830-6841. doi: 10.1109/ACCESS.2023.3348840.
• Swenor, B.K., Lee, M.J., Varadaraj, V., Whitson, H.E., Ramulu, P.Y. (2019). Aging with vision loss: A framework for assessing the impact of visual impairment on older adults. Gerontologist, 60, 989–995.
• Synder, H. (2019). Literature review as a research methodology: An overview and guidelines. Journal of Business Research, 104, 333-339.
• TCMB (2009). Türk Lirası’na geçiş toplantısı. Retrieved from https://www3.tcmb.gov.tr/tlkampanya/download/Banknot_Sunum.pdf.
• Thadikaran, G.B. and Singh, S.K. (2025). Exploring the shopping experiences of visually impaired consumers: a scoping literature review. Journal of Indian Business Research, 1755-4195. doi:10.1108/JIBR-09-2023-0289.
• Thales, (n.d.). More inclusive payments for the blind and visually impaired: Papara takes the lead. Retrieved from https://www.thalesgroup.com/en/markets/digital-identity-and-security/banking-payment/customer-cases/papara-voice-card.
• T.R. Ministry of Family and Social Services, (2023). Engelli ve yaşlı istatistik bülteni – Nisan 2023. Retrieved from https://aile.gov.tr/media/135432/eyhgm_istatistik_bulteni_nisan_23.pdf.
• TurkStat, (2023). Türkiye sağlık araştırması - 2022. Retrieved from https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Bulten/Index?p=Turkiye-Saglik-Arastirmasi-2022-49747.
• TurkStat, (2024). Türkiye yaşlı profili araştırması, 2023. Retrieved from https://data.tuik.gov.tr/Bulten/Index?p=Turkiye-Yasli-Profili-Arastirmasi-2023-53809#:~:text=Ge%C3%A7mi%C5%9Fe%20mutlulukla%20bakan%2065%20ve,i%C3%A7in%20%68%2C3%20oldu.andtext=Toplumun%20ya%C5%9Fl%C4%B1%20bireylerin%20deneyimlerinden%20faydalanmas%C4%B1,oran%C4%B1%20%81%2C9%20oldu .
• Türk Telekom, (n.d.). Erişilebilir yaşam. Retrieved from https://bireysel.turktelekom.com.tr/dijital-servisler/dijital-uygulama-veplatformlar/erisilebilir-yasam .
• Ugale, K.V., Tambe, A., Kurhe, M. and Shubham, B. (2023). Counterfeit currency detection and recognition for blind people. International Journal of Advanced Research in Science, Communication and Technology, 3(1), 520. doi:10.48175/IJARSCT-13681.
• Umut, Ö.M., Velioğlu, M.N., Eru, O. (2021). Perakendecilik sektörü özürlü tüketicileri görüyor mu?. Pazarlama ve Pazarlama Araştırmaları Dergisi, 14(3), 551-578.
• Van Der Cruijsen, C. and Reijerınk, J. (2024). Uncovering the digital payment divide: Understanding the importance of cash for groups at risk. The Journal of Consumer Affairs, 58, 486-505. doi: 10.1111/joca.12591.
• WHO, (2023). Blindness and vision impairment, Retrieved from https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/blindness-and-visual-impairment.
• WB (World Bank), (2014). Global financial development report 2014 – Financial inclusion, Retrieved from https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/server/api/core/bitstreams/446a24f6-0fd2-5d76-a94a-ce1fbfc6648d/content.
• Wong, E.J., Yap, K.M., Alexander, J., Karnik, A. (2017). Design and Analysis of Haptic-Audio Based System for Visually Impaired to Shop Online. Journal of Telecommunication, Electronic and Computer Engineering, 9(2-2), 159–163.
• Yapı Kredi (n.d.). Engelsiz bankacılık - engelsiz POS (Görme engelliler için), Retrieved from https://www.engelsizbankacilik.net/gorme-engelliler-icin-engelsiz-pos/default.aspx.
• Yu, H., Tullio-Pow, S., Akhtar, A. (2015). Retail design and the visually impaired: A needs assessment. Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services, 24, 121-129.
• Zor, B.S., Vuruşkan, A. (2019). Assistive technologies for individuals with visual impairment: Contribution of design in the field of clothing. Journal of Engineering Sciences and Design, 7(4): 913 – 925.
• Zufelt, E. (2010). Sorry, we don’t serve the blind: Inaccessible point-of-sale devices. Retrieved from https://zufelt.ca/blog/sorry-we-dont-serve-blind-inaccessible-point-sales-devices.
• Zywicki, T.J. (2010). The Economics of Payment Card Interchange fees and the Limits of Regulation. ICLE Financial Regulatory Program White Paper Series, Retrieved from https://laweconcenter.org/images/articles/zywicki_interchange.pdf.