PayU, the Indian fintech platform, has announced the launch of Accessible Payments Checkout, a new system designed to enable blind and visually impaired individuals to complete digital transactions independently. The company states this is India’s first Reserve Bank of India (RBI)-compliant payment checkout tailored for users with visual impairments, marking a step toward broader digital financial inclusion.

The initiative positions PayU https://payu.in/) as the first payment gateway in India to comply with the RBI’s October 2024 accessibility mandate. This regulation, based on BIS IS 17802 standards, requires digital payment providers to ensure their products and services, including websites and applications, meet accessibility standards for persons with disabilities.

PayU – Key Accessibility Features

The Accessible Payments Checkout integrates several features to enhance discoverability, navigation, and interaction for users with visual and cognitive accessibility needs. These include:

Full Screen-Reader Optimisation: The checkout is engineered for compatibility with screen readers, enabling visually impaired users to navigate the entire payment process via voice commands without sighted assistance. This includes selection of payment methods, confirmation of amounts, and transaction completion.

Adaptive User Profiles: This feature allows users to customize their checkout environment by adjusting elements such as cursor size, button dimensions, and navigation aids. Preferences can be saved for future use.

Visual Inclusivity Modes: To support users with conditions such as low vision, color blindness, or light sensitivity, the system offers various visual modes, including high contrast, greyscale, color inversion, and saturation adjustment options.

Text Resizing: The checkout supports text scaling up to 200% of the standard size, designed to prevent overlapping or hiding content, thereby ensuring readability.

Industry Impact and Official Statements

Manas Mishra, Chief Product Officer at PayU and Wibmo, emphasized the company’s approach: “At PayU, accessibility is a core design principle. The Accessible Payments Checkout aims to deliver payment experiences that are inclusive by design, enabling millions of users with diverse accessibility needs to participate more confidently in India’s digital economy. This aligns with the RBI’s accessibility vision.”

Prashant Ranjan Verma, General Secretary of the National Association for the Blind, Delhi, offered a third-party perspective. “I appreciate PayU’s efforts to make digital payments more accessible for everyone. I was able to complete a UPI payment independently using PayU’s accessibility-first checkout with VoiceOver,” Verma stated.

PayU has confirmed that its merchants can implement the Accessible Payments Checkout without requiring modifications to their existing integrations. The accessibility features are embedded within the design, allowing merchants using PayU to automatically offer this compliant experience to a wider customer base. For further insights into such industry developments and the latest tech appliance news, readers can visit TechnoSports (https://technosports.co.in/).