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ADA COMPLIANCE: Pathways to accessible payments

The Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) was signed into law July 26, 1990, and ISOs and ATM deployers got busy ripping out and replacing terminals and ATMs that didn’t meet ADA standards. Thirty-five years later, business owners are still paying fines and penalties for noncompliant devices and websites.I recently interviewed Josh Basile, an attorney, disability rights advocate, philanthropist and community relations director at accessiBe, a web accessibility solutions provider, on B2B Vault: The Biz to Biz Podcast.

Our discussion helped me realize that ADA compliance is more than avoiding fines and checking boxes. It’s about leveling up all points of interaction, throughout stores, hotels, restaurants and websites, to enable customers to transact with dignity and independence in their own preferred ways.

Basile, who became a C45 quadriplegic following an accident as a teenager, uses voice dictation software, on-screen keyboards and screen readers to navigate the internet. “If accessibility is not properly done, I could get stuck on a homepage or be unable to access a dropdown to get to the next page,” he explained.

“Or I could be blocked from entering a credit card at checkout or unable to read sites that don’t support my screen reader.”

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ATMs, POS, kiosks

ADA guidelines for ATMs were introduced on March 15, 2012. After deploying ATMs for 11 years, I saw machines get outlawed for being too high for people in wheelchairs or not having optimized function keys for visually impaired people. This meant entire lines of equipment had to be ripped out and replaced everywhere. It seems every year brings a new regulatory or security mandate for ATMs and credit card machines.

I recalled a friend who owned a building and received a complaint from an attorney about sidewalk access to his building. It was an expensive way to learn he needed a ramp.

Basile acknowledged that there are “drive-by” attorneys who flag noncompliant merchants but emphasized that good attorneys bring cases for the right reasons. ADA, he added, is an important protection; businesses that implement ADA guidance and best practices can avoid drive-by lawsuits and improve the customer experience.

Ecommerce, websites

With online shopping a preferred channel for disabled consumers, accessibility providers offer a range of shopping cart integrations and plug-ins with Shopify, WooCommerce, WordPress and other leading platforms. Free website scanning tools evaluate and score website pages and identify areas in need of improvement. Merchants can add accessibility widgets to their sites that enable customers to personalize their website experiences.

“I think all customers love having options,” Basile said. “I may want to read more on one site and shop or fill out forms on another site, and with these options, I can customize each experience. We call it usability in the accessibility world, and accessibility and usability go hand in hand.”

Basile further noted that around 70 percent of websites are inaccessible today. This is a huge problem, he said, because most people with disabilities who reach a barrier on a website will immediately leave that site and never come back.

Accessibility roadmap

Over the years, payments industry veterans have seen a plethora of next-generation ATM, credit card terminal and kiosk technologies, each addressing whatever consumer trends, security mandates and regulatory requirements were popular at the time.

With product lifecycles getting shorter and product certifications getting longer, merchants are trading hardware and software investments for hardware-as-a-service and software-as-a-service solutions that offer unlimited trade-ins and compliance upgrades for low monthly fees.

POS hardware and software is a journey, Basile stated, not a one-and-done. The quicker you address accessibility, the fewer headaches you’ll have, and no one needs to take that journey alone. Providers can help ISOs and their merchants create compliant checkout aisles and counters, accessible signage in stores and online, and modify noncompliant terminals and websites without much difficulty or expense.

Accessibility providers

It’s best to consider technical, budgetary and support requirements when researching accessibility providers. As Basile noted, providers offer a range of services, from manual and automated testing to remedial tools and consulting services.

Will the merchant need a one-time audit or ongoing assistance? Which compliance checklist—Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG), Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) or European Accessibility Act (EAA)—will the provider address? Available options include the following:

• ADA Stands

   provides ADA-compliant card and PIN reader stands and mounts for countertop, self-checkout and unattended POS environments. U-shaped handles can be operated with one hand and are ADA 309 and ADA Operation 309.4 compliant, noted Steve Taylor, CEO and founder of Taylor POS.

• Humanscale

   provides ergonomic POS mounts and stands designed to improve posture, reduce strain and streamline interactions. The company’s ADA-compliant hardware is compatible with most existing POS systems, the company stated, and built for flexibility, durability and ease of use.

• Level Access

   helps customers achieve and maintain compliance with accessible technology regulations. The company offers a software suite, expert services and training to ensure customers’ websites, desktop and mobile applications, embedded software, gaming software, digital products, and electronic documents are accessible to everyone.

• EqualWeb

   is a software development company that makes the web accessible for people with disabilities. The company uses AI to identify and fix accessibility issues on websites and accessibility experts to audit and fix issues to meet worldwide compliance laws.

• Siteimprove

   helps brands deliver accessible user experiences through its marketing performance platform. The company’s free scanning tool evaluates a website’s accessibility to identify potential issues and ensure compliance with worldwide accessibility policies.

• accessiBe

   is an AI-powered web accessibility solutions provider that helps businesses create inclusive digital experiences. The company’s free scanning tool enables businesses to assess website compliance and identify areas in need of improvement. It also helps companies tailor and customize websites to facilitate accessibility best practices and compliance with global regulatory standards.

“The disability community is a brand-loyal community,” Basile said. “When we’re treated well we come back again and again as repeat customers, and we tell our friends and family members that we had a good experience.” The Aug. 8, 2025, B2B Vault episode, “Breaking Barriers: Josh Basile’s Mission for Disability Rights & Accessibility” is available at www.youtube.com/watch?v=WX0Gr_AKJ3w.

Want to know more? Keep reading The Green Sheet and consider following me on LinkedIn, where we can share ideas and support each other. 

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