KBank to test e-banking mobile app for visually impaired
KBank’s K Plus Beacon mobile-banking app began as an entry in an international fintech contest that won two awards, and it will soon let visually impaired people in Thailand conduct transactions by phone.
A trial period will begin this month with 300 volunteers and the full launch is expected next year.
KBank first senior vice president Supaneewan Chutrakul said the idea is to promote “greater inclusion of the total populace”.
Introduced here in cooperation with fintech start-up Beacon Interface, the app is “intended to be like a lighthouse shedding the light of equality on those with visual limitations so they can use their smartphones to achieve banking convenience”, he said.
The app combines the convenience of the K Plus (K+) app, which is expected to have eight million users by year’s end, with Beacon Interface’s user-assist for the visually impaired.
K Plus Beacon gives people with no or low visual acuity, including the elderly, the ability to conduct transactions online without viewing the screen. Private, convenient, fast and safe, the app enables balance inquiries, transfers, service top-ups and bill payments.
Anyone interested in participating in the trial can call the K-Contact Centre at (02) 888 8888 and press 866, go to www.kasikornbank.com/KPLUS-Beacon or contact the Thailand Association of the Blind.
Participants will be asked for opinions and recommendations on the prototype app so that it can be further developed and fine-tuned.