THE PROBLEM
•There are 12.11M adults in the UK with a recognised disability, of which 7.15M have accessibility needs.
•Accessibility doesn’t just apply to people with disabilities – all users have different needs at different times, often remaining undiagnosed.
•Current online/mobile banking solutions offer limited digital access capabilities, placing the onus on individuals to address their own assistive technology (AT) requirements.
•Digital banking is now essential. Yet in a 2020 survey, 43% of UK adults with digital access needs said they did not use banking apps to manage their finances.
20% OF UK ADULTS
Up to 20% of UK adults experience accessibility issues with mobile and online banking apps.
This can result in frustration, isolation, mental health issues and potential financial exclusion, with a lasting negative social impact.
At BankAbility, we believe this is unacceptable and needs to change, fast.
WHAT ARE ACCESSIBILITY ISSUES?
Real world examples
NEUROLOGICAL
Mohammed has attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) and finds text easier to read if it’s highlighted in blue as it’s being read out loud on his mobile. He needs to be able to adjust the highlight and text colours, so text is readable with sufficient colour contrast.
SENSORY
Elizabeth has partly blurred and unclear vision and finds it hard to read texts that do not have strong colour contrast. She needs screen magnification, high contrast themes and occasional screen reader capability to access mobile apps.
PHYSICAL
George has limited hand movement and uses custom gestures on his smartphone. He wants a visible focus indicator to know what element on the page has focus so when gestures are used on his mobile, he will know what element will be activated.
Eve Anderson
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What’s needed is an inclusive digital banking solution that’s accessible for society’s most vulnerable people.
BankAbility is an Open Banking solution that automatically optimises the user-experience for everyone regardless of disability or age, device or operating system. enabling people to better-manage their finances and their everyday lives.
It’s a game changer.
OUR APPROACH
An ‘accessibility first’ Open Banking solution that provides an easy-to-use solution for people to manage their finances via a single dashboard (a white-label front-end integration is also available for existing bank apps).
INCLUSION
Designed for sensory, neurodiversity and physical disabilities, including mobility, dexterity, stamina, vision, hearing, mental-health, dyslexia, dyspraxia, learning/cognitive, autism, language, memory and behavioural.
EASE OF USE
Users are not required to be ‘tech-savvy’ beyond using a smartphone or accessing a website. This means no requirement to configure devices or assistive technology (AT) applications.
ACCESSIBILITY
An innovative access needs engine automatically optimises the user experience (UX) for everyone regardless of disability/spectrum, device or operating system (OS).
OPEN BANKING
A totally inclusive digital banking experience via a single, accessibility-optimised Open Banking platform dynamically linked to each user’s preferences.
AI DRIVEN
Artificial Intelligence (AI) learning effects will improve the onboarding process and support for all users, amplifying the scale and value created as the volume of data increases over time.
BankAbility
OUR MISSION
To improve the lives of society’s most vulnerable people by building the world’s most inclusive digital accessibility technology.
OUR VISION
To build a solution enabling everyone with access needs to easily manage their digital banking.
OUR VALUES
Integrity, trust, respect, inclusion, innovation, simplicity.
OUR PLEDGE
To donate 10% of annual profits to charity partners.
Lord David Blunkett
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Our Team
DAVID AGAR
CEO
David is a highly experienced tech sector entrepreneur specialising in creating value and scaling innovative and disruptive businesses in the UK/EU/USA. He previously led a FinTech start-up from FCA license to launch in multiple EU markets.
STEVEN POH
CTO
Steven has 15 years’ experience leading major projects in the FinTech sector. At WorldRemit (a UK ‘unicorn’ now worth >$1Bn) he led app development across multiple markets, using an agile approach to ensure projects are on time and within budget.
PENNY ROBERTS
DIRECTOR OF PARTNERSHIPS
Penny is the ultimate strategic partnerships builder! She’s developed multi-million £ relationships with global enterprises during the last 25+ years, and leads partner engagement with corporate sponsors and disability charities.
CAROLYN COOPER
HEAD OF FINANCE
Carolyn is a CIMA qualified management accountant and has worked in the comms and tech sectors for over 20 years.
Board Advisors
STEVE ROBERTSON
COMPLIANCE, RISK & REGULATORY
MBA qualified Steve is a Chartered Director with 30+ years experience helping FCA/PRA regulated firms to become authorised, managing their ongoing compliance and regulatory obligations.
MIKE MCDERMOT
GOVERNANCE & RESILIENCE
Mike is a highly experienced CEO / Company Secretary / Chairman / NED with numerous building-societies/financial services organisations.
AMY WILSON
MARKETING & COMMUNICATIONS
Amy is a results-driven, growth-focussed marketer experienced in advisory for Financial Services firms, as well as for the leadership teams at Omnicom, Publicis and WPP.
CLIVE HENLY
BUSINESS TRANSFORMATION
An experienced chair and senior director in the credit union sector, for 30+ years Clive has led major business change programs with Experian, RBS, Lloyds and other major banks.
MURYEL BOULAY
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL & GOVERNANCE
Working for large multinational corporations, including M&A experience, Muryel understands that purpose and culture is key to positive sustainability and long-term value creation.
LESLIE WHITEFORD
FINANCIAL PLANNING
A CFO with 40+ years global experience delivering increased stakeholder value in highly regulated financial services markets with E*TRADE, PWC & KPMG.
VANESSA BUCKLE
CONSUMER FINANCE & MARKETPLACE
Vanessa is a financial services and ecommerce expert with 25yrs experience, including building award winning revenue streams and Board reporting for MoneySuperMarket.
ENVIRONMENTAL, SOCIAL & GOVERNANCE (ESG)
We are committed to maximising value for all stakeholders and shareholders by integrating environmental, social, and governance factors systematically into everything we do.
In this way we will contribute to the sustainable development of society whilst satisfying the needs of our customers, employees and communities.
ENVIRONMENTAL
How we interact with the environment:
BankAbility’s key environmental impact is energy consumption: servers, offices and employee travel.
We will build an environment impact policy with a net zero impact.
SOCIAL
How we engage with society and communities:
The core of our business focuses on accessibility and inclusivity, supporting the wider community and all its diverse ability individuals by creating employment and contributing to the local economy.
BankAbility will go further in the way we will manage our collaborators, and will work alongside charities and other organisations supporting similar causes.
GOVERNANCE
How we manage the company to ensure accountability and efficiency:
From its inception, BankAbility has concentrated on bringing an expert group of experienced advisors which will ultimately translate into a diverse Board.
We are committed to running a fair, transparent and ethical business to the highest standards.
Partner
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News
Funding opportunities
Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry's standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged.
APPS OPTIMISED FOR ACCESSIBILITY
AbilityBank’s AI driven front-end provides a unique ‘accessibility onboarding’ process, ensuring each individual’s user experience is automatically optimised for every session, regardless of disability/spectrum, device or operating system (OS).
Media Enquiries
For all media enquiries and speaking opportunities, please contact Maz Davis at Shooting Star:
To keep up to date with the latest news about BankAbility, please follow us on our social media channels
By observing my own sticky adventures, I’ve discovered that online banking can be a nightmare to navigate at any time during the banking process—especially for disabled people.
So, can a new banking app create a smooth experience for us all?
And why should we care?
The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated an already fast-moving shift towards digitalisation, with personal contact and face-to-face meetings disintegrating. From the way we work to the way we shop, the ‘new normal’ that we live is set to be hybrid, as all of us move further and further into the online world.
How BankAbility is Helping People Become Financially Included