National Commercial Bank Jamaica (NCB) has quietly flipped the switch on a game-changing accessibility upgrade: forty of its automated banking machines (ABMs) now talk customers through every step of a transaction.
After nearly four years of development, the pilot rollout spans all 14 parishes, placing at least one audio-assisted ABM in each branch. Users plug in any standard headset and receive clear, private voice prompts for cash withdrawals, balance checks, and deposits—no visual cues required.
Danielle Cameron Duncan, Vice-President of Payments & Digital Channels, framed the launch as a direct response to Jamaica’s demographics. Roughly four percent of the population lives with visual impairment, another one percent is completely blind, and an estimated 12 percent struggles with literacy. “Our mandate was simple,” she said at Monday’s event at Matilda’s Corner. “Give every Jamaican the dignity to manage their own money—no side help, no guesswork.”
The investment topped J$46 million, a fraction of NCB’s monthly ABM traffic (over 2.4 million transactions moving J$40 billion), yet the bank sees outsized social ROI. Kevin Ingram, Group Head of Branch Sales, positioned the upgrade as “table stakes for a modern bank,” noting that tactile Braille keypads are already live on 90 percent of NCB’s 300-machine fleet. Wheelchair ramps and other branch-level enhancements are also in progress.
Behind the scenes, Productive Business Solutions handles maintenance while NCR provides the audio firmware. The Jamaica Society for the Blind endorsed the initiative, with chairman Daemion McLean calling it “the new gold standard—independence at last.”
NCB’s message to rivals? Accessibility is no longer a nice-to-have; it’s a competitive edge.
