The cost of exclusion: Why accessible payment…

Over the past decade, the way we pay for goods and services has undergone a dramatic transformation – from cash to cardless mobile payment, and more recently with biometric authentication. However, in our pursuit of speed and convenience, are we at risk of leaving some people behind?

Today’s payment ecosystem, which continues to broaden with ever-increasing options, has created greater personalisation and flexibility than ever before. However, it also creates barriers to accessibility, leaving some customers confused, frustrated, and even completely excluded from accessing certain support and services. Each time a new payment product is launched without accessibility front of mind, it adds to banks’ and payments providers’ technical debt – leading to higher future costs, reputational risk, and the likelihood of expensive retrofits. Consider payment cards and terminals: as tactile features like embossed numbers disappear and payment terminals move to touchscreen-only designs, key elements of accessibility are being stripped away.

This challenge is further heightened for vulnerable customers, something the FCA is paying scrupulous attention to as it looks to drive industry-wide improvements. Accessible payments isn’t just a regulatory tick-box though, it’s a lucrative growth driver when underpinned by strategic differentiation and innovation-led customer centricity.

Inclusive by design payments

There are many reasons access to payment is challenging for certain customers, with disability being one example. With over 1.3 billion people globally living with a disability – roughly 16 percent of the world’s population – the need for inclusive design has never been more urgent. In the UK alone, 24 percent of the population was reported as having a disability in 2022/23, marking a 32 percent increase over the past decade. This isn’t a temporary deviation; as the UN’s 2024 Disability and Development Report warns, aging populations and climate-related health impacts are expected to accelerate this trend worldwide.

To meet the broad spectrum of consumer needs today, payment solutions must be designed with everyone in mind – not just the ‘average’ user. Banks and payment providers must tackle the disconnect between internal delivery and real-world usability – a pivot that demands they evolve their operating models, team structures, and innovation processes to ensure payment capabilities are customer-led and commercially valuable.

Banks failing to serve those with disabilities, vulnerabilities, or low digital confidence risk losing ground to more inclusive challengers.

A more sustainable solution is to build inclusively from the outset. This involves embedding discovery research and accessibility testing early in the development process with a wide spectrum of users, co-creating with users with accessibility needs, and designing around universal design principles. Banks that adopt this approach not only meet evolving expectations but also set themselves apart. Institutions like Monzo and the Commonwealth Bank of Australia are already leading the way – introducing features such as high-contrast debit cards, voice-enabled interfaces, screen reader compatibility, and haptic feedback to make banking more inclusive for all.

However, the key to truly inclusive banking lies in making these approaches standardised and commonplace across the industry. Without this consistency, financial organisations still risk creating a fragmented customer experience, where some organisations offer inclusive solutions and others fall short.

Embedding accessibility into operations

In many banks where agile delivery is becoming the norm, the imperative to create products and services that satisfy and prioritise customer needs is foregrounded in the agile approach. However, with banks often having many agile product squads and only limited customer or user research capability, it can still be difficult to ensure user insights reach all teams.

A case in point here is at Fidelity, where the integration of Research Operations into their Product Ops function led to tangible improvements, reduction in timescales for user research without compromising compliance requirements, and an increased insights to action rate.

Another effective way to overcome this challenge is through Product Operations (Product Ops), an emerging discipline that brings together delivery teams with enterprise-wide customer insight. Rather than requiring a large-scale restructuring of operational teams, a dedicated Product Ops function enables accessibility data to move seamlessly across teams, helping them make more informed, inclusive decisions without slowing delivery.

Putting empathy at the heart of innovation

The best innovations solve everyday problems. Whether it’s paying a bill or navigating a busy app with low vision, banks must tune into the real, often overlooked, struggles of their users.

Hyper focused customer experience models can be used to help organisations gain this level of clarity. We worked with Pret to to accelerate their digital customer experience through a new customer data platform. This unlocked deeper behavioural insights that enabled Pret to thrive in a disrupted market. Pairing customer understanding with technical expertise, we created highly personalised digital journeys that kept Pret relevant and responsive – no matter how customer lifestyles evolve.

This same approach holds huge potential for financial services. By blending technology innovation with deep consumer insight, banks can move faster, differentiate more meaningfully, and lead in a rapidly evolving payments landscape.

A better payment future starts with better questions

Designing more inclusive payment systems and tools encourages banks to create solutions grounded in relevance, respect, and reach. Those that lead with empathy and insight won’t just meet regulatory expectations; they’ll strengthen customer relationships, unlock new market opportunities, and deliver payment experiences that stand the test of time.