Digital accessibility for banks and insurance companies

From a one-off audit to always-on monitoring: we safeguard your investments in accessible websites, apps, online application processes and PDF documents in accordance with the BFSG and BITV 2.0. Our experts combine automated accessibility tools with manual validation to ensure long-term compliance – without overburdening your internal teams.

The Accessibility Enhancement Act (BFSG) has made the rules for digital products offered by banks and insurance companies more binding. Wherever services are offered to consumers, online banking portals, mobile apps, calculators and PDF documents (such as general terms and conditions or product information) must be fully accessible and barrier-free for people with disabilities. Many organisations have implemented initial projects in preparation for the Act. However, accessibility is not a one-off ‘go-live’ milestone, but an ongoing process. Without continuous monitoring of accessibility, the status achieved erodes with every new release, every revised premium calculator and every new PDF document. Whilst a comprehensive, manual audit (also known as a BITV test) provides the greatest depth of analysis, it is far too time-consuming for the agile release cycle in day-to-day operations.

Our Accessibility Monitoring as a Service bridges this gap. We combine automated checks, manual testing and practical advice into a service that permanently embeds digital accessibility into your standard operating procedures. In this way, a legal obligation becomes a hallmark of quality for your digital services – and contributes to your customers’ satisfaction.

Discuss BFSG monitoring now

A one-off BFSG project may provide you with a good starting point, but it does not guarantee long-term legal certainty. For a quick initial check, many organisations use free software or simple plugins. These accessibility tools automatically scan the source code for standardised patterns – this is efficient, but due to the nature of the system, it only covers around 35 per cent of the legal requirements.

• No understanding of usage scenarios: Algorithms can neither detect logical errors in user guidance nor reliably assess whether a person with a disability can complete an online checkout process without errors.
• Risk of data graveyards: Conventional automated tools deliver hundreds of technical findings, but no strategy. IT, online sales and compliance teams are left to deal with unprioritised lists on their own.
• Lack of practical relevance: Without translating technical reports into concrete tasks, efforts miss the mark when it comes to meeting customers’ actual needs.

Our service combines automated testing environments with in-depth technical and industry expertise. We ensure that your digital offerings not only pass the code check but are also fully accessible to real people. Automated tests are supplemented by manual checks and regular dialogue with your teams.

• Transparency rather than ‘compliance blind spots’: You can view the genuine, validated compliance status of your websites, apps and documents at any time. Risks in insurance processes or banking become apparent before they cause problems.
• Protection of investments made (preservation of value): You have invested a significant portion of your budget to achieve BFSG compliance. Our monitoring ensures that this standard of quality is not inadvertently lost again in future releases.
• Significant relief for specialist departments: Your developers and editors do not have to struggle with cryptic error messages from automated accessibility tools. We provide clear, actionable tasks.
• Avoiding costly ‘firefighting’: It is demonstrably more cost-effective to continuously rectify barriers as they arise in day-to-day operations than to launch an expensive and time-consuming rectification project shortly before an audit.
• Quality assured by the ‘human factor’: As software tools cannot definitively assess logical usability, our manual expert tests ensure the actual accessibility of your complex checkout processes.
• Verifiable documentation (audit-ready): In the event of inspections by market surveillance authorities, consumer protection bodies or internal audit teams, you will have comprehensive, up-to-date trend reports and lists of corrective actions at your disposal.

Digital infrastructures in the financial sector have evolved individually. Whether you initially wish to monitor a single, critical checkout process or need to secure an entire portal and document landscape with extensive PDF collections straight away: our Accessibility Monitoring adapts to your requirements. We offer flexible packages – from entry-level options for individual websites to solutions for complex multi-domain setups with extensive PDF collections.

Together, we’ll find the monitoring package that suits your digital landscape. Flexible options for your bespoke package:

• Scope: Number of domains, portals and customer-relevant subpages.
• Scope of manual checks: A fixed sample size for core workflows such as application and completion processes, premium and tariff calculators, claims reporting, or online banking and self-service processes.
• Monitoring frequency: Half-yearly, quarterly or monthly – tailored to your release cycle and the dynamics of your digital offerings.
• Consultancy allocation per interval: A fixed allocation for evaluation, prioritisation, ticket formulation, discussions regarding releases and targeted knowledge transfer to your teams.
• Tool setup: Evaluation and deployment of a dedicated monitoring tool via us, or integration with existing accessibility or monitoring tools within your organisation – whichever best suits your infrastructure.

This ensures you remain in control: you know exactly which portals, routes and documents are being monitored, how frequently we carry out checks, and how much support your teams receive during implementation. And if your digital landscape or requirements change, we’ll adapt the package together with you – without having to reinvent the established process.

Whether you’ve just completed your first BFSG project or are already using your own accessibility tools: with our Accessibility Monitoring for insurance companies and banks, you can make accessibility an integral part of your digital operational processes – efficiently and transparently.

We support you in reliably meeting legal requirements whilst simultaneously improving digital customer experiences – across application workflows, portals, online banking and documents.