Changes Coming to Make US Currency Accessible

By Hillary Kleck

There are over 6 million people with a visual disability in the United States according to a report produced by the American Community Survey in 2012. However, the currency used daily by everyone in the country to purchase necessary goods and services is inaccessible to the entire population of people with visual impairments. But in 200 other countries around the world, governments have found a way to make their country’s money accessible to this population. So why is the US lagging so far behind? Some people think that the accessibility should be required and implemented right away, while other organizations have made a stand against it.

In 2002, the American Council of the Blind filed suit for the lack of accessibility of US currency, finally winning the case in 2008. Two years ago in 2013 (five years after ACB’s huge win), the United States Bureau of Engraving issued a plan for an accessible design. Now, in 2015, the US Treasury has stated that some of the accessibility design attributes still have not yet been determined, a statement referenced in an article by the Washington Post highlighting the accessibility features of the new $10 bill as the big change overshadowed by the decision to put a woman on the front.

Read the full article on The Washington Post’s website.

What’s your opinion of the need for accessible currency in the US, and what’s your reaction to these facts and figures? Let us know in the comments below!