The final deadline for ATMs to be compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act is approaching. While many CUs have already taken steps to have their machines ready, others have not, according to industry executives.

The U.S. Justice Department upgraded the regulations in July 2010 with new regulations called the 2010 Standards for Accessible Design that impact  ATM designs and functionality. The new rules changed things like the height of walk-up ATMs, audible technologies ATMs need to have available for users with visual disabilities and changes to keyboards to make it easier for visually impaired users to discern one key from another. The new rules come into effect for compliance as of March 15, 2012.

On height, the new rules specify that walk up ATM be no taller than 48 inches, a full four inches lower than the previous standard of 52 inches. On audible technologies, the rules declare that a compliant ATM must use either recorded speech or computer synthesized speech. It also must have either a jack where a pair of earphones can be plugged in or a telephone handset that a user can use. It must also have notices in Braille or large text indicating the jack or handset. In addition, balance inquiry information, error messages and all the other information printed on the receipt must also be available audibly.