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Santander expands resources for Deaf customers with launch of British Sign Language website translation service

Deaf customers can now browse Santander.co.uk in British Sign Language (BSL), as Santander rolls out Signly across its website.

The rollout of the BSL technology that translates the bank’s website aims to provide more Deaf customers with access to key financial information.

Customers can go to the Deaf or hearing loss accessibility page on the Santander website to turn Signly on. Once on, a qualified translator is displayed in the corner of the screen to translate the selected text into BSL for the customer.

Translations are currently available on the most visited pages of the Santander website. The number of translated pages will increase as customers can make requests for additional pages of the website to be translated by Signly, which will be produced within seven days.

There are around 87,000 Deaf people in the UK who use BSL as their preferred language.

Santander Head of Vulnerable Customer Strategy, Dorothy Liviabella, said: “Our addition of Signly will improve access to critical financial information for more people. Tens of thousands of Deaf people use BSL as their primary language and through Signly they can now easily access the exact same information as other customers.”

Santander’s Head of User Experience & Design, Tom Paget, said: “Everyone should be able to access digital services without barriers. Signly is the perfect partner to help us become a more inclusive and accessible bank by providing British Sign Language translations for our website.”

Breda Leyne of ESquared, the social enterprise behind SigningBanks.UK, says: “We developed SigningBanks.UK in the belief that everyone, regardless of their hearing ability, deserves seamless access to financial resources and services. We have been working with Santander and other financial services firms for the past couple of years to promote the needs of Deaf customers and to highlight outstanding gaps in service provision. We are delighted to see Santander achieve a significant step in making their services more accessible to BSL users, using the excellent Signly service.”

The rollout of Signly builds on existing services for Deaf customers. Santander offers SignVideo which connects customers to a professional interpreter who will interpret on their behalf to an advisor. SignVideo can be used from home, or customers can bring their device into branch to speak to colleagues face to face through a BSL interpreter. Should customers wish, they can bring their own interpreter to their local branch or Santander can book an interpreter for a customer free of charge. The bank also supports Relay UK, which allows customers to use the Relay UK app or textphone to speak to colleagues by converting customers’ speech into text and vice versa.

More information on Santander’s accessibility offering is available on the Santander website.

Nationwide Launches British Sign Language Service as it Increases Access to Financial Services for Deaf People

Website translation service comes as Sign Language Week begins in the UK
Enhances support Nationwide offers Deaf customers in branch and contact centres
Just 6% of financial services firms1 offer websites in British Sign Language (BSL)
Deaf charities call for greater awareness of BSL as a recognised UK language
BSL is the primary language of 87,000 of UK’s Deaf population

As Sign Language Week launches this week, Nationwide has rolled out a new digital service for Deaf customers by providing its website in British Sign Language (BSL).

Nationwide becomes the first building society to offer the service by partnering with leading BSL technology company, Signly – ensuring Deaf customers can access services in their primary language and improve access to financial services.

BSL content is in the form of pre-recorded signed videos, with the most popular web pages available first. Content will grow over time and users can select any new pages to be translated. Innovative technology continually monitors website content to ensure that translations stay true to the text. For the first use, customers need to opt-in via Nationwide’s accessibility webpage.

Nationwide’s launch comes as national charity British Deaf Association (BDA) is ramping up calls for greater acknowledgement of the needs of Deaf people. They estimate that BSL is the first language of over 87,000 Deaf people in the UK, meaning that written English is inaccessible for many.

With money impacting all aspects of life, providing accessible banking solutions is crucial for ensuring that people maintain financial independence wherever possible. A recent report¹ by self-regulatory banking body, the Lending Standards Board (LSB), found that whilst 65 per cent of their registered banking firms offered BSL services in-branch, and 59 per cent offered remote BSL access via video, only six per cent provided on-demand access to website content.

The launch of the service builds on the existing range of accessibility services offered by Nationwide, including SignVideo BSL into contact centres and in-branch BSL interpretation. Nationwide recently announced its participation in the Experian Support Hub scheme, which lets customers record their support needs digitally and share them with multiple companies more easily. As part of this service, there are a range of options for people who are Deaf or have hearing loss, which aim to improve the experience when contacting Nationwide.

Kathryn Townsend, Head of Customer Accessibility at Nationwide said: “British Sign Language is a rich, visual language. The recent BSL Act introduction which legally recognises it as language of England, Scotland and Wales, and the upcoming launch of the BSL GCSE show progress, but there remain barriers. We recognise that for BSL users, accessible communication formats are not always available, so we are proud to launch this new service as part of our commitment to the Deaf community, to improve access to vital financial information. Crucially, we work with Deaf charities and people with lived experiences to help inform what we do.”

Reg Cobb, CEO of charity deafPLUS, said: “At deafPLUS, deaf people, including those who use BSL as their first language is at the heart of what we do and we are proud that 97 per cent of our staff are deaf, including myself. Our mission is to provide information, advice, and guidance so that deaf people can make informed decisions, including with financial matters. In the UK, we’re seen as worldclass in how we provide access to deaf people and yet, we’re still so far behind in terms of equitable access to all facilities, goods and services. Unfortunately, we still hear too many stories of how deaf people are left feeling frustrated, failing to access their own finances.

“We’re pleased to work with Nationwide, as one of the leading financial services providers, to pave the way for better access to information for deaf people and are thrilled to see them launch on-demand access to website content in BSL. It’s vital that corporate organisations, such as Nationwide, are working together towards a world with equal access for deaf people, so they don’t have to rely on support from deaf organisations.”

For enquiries about Nationwide, contact Matthew fox on matthew.fox@nationwide.co.uk

Signature collaborate with Signly to Boost Digital Accessibility on Their Website

Since 1982, Signature has supported more than 500,000 people to learn British Sign Language. Signature is proud to be the leading awarding body for deaf communication and language qualifications in the UK. The organisation continually strives to create qualifications that will provide learners with the skills they need to build successful careers and simply raise deaf awareness.

Signature is delighted to team up with Signly, bringing sign language translations to our website. This is a big leap in making our digital space accessible to everyone and amplifies our commitment to deaf awareness. We value our strong ties with the deaf community, making Signly’s inclusion an essential step forward.

Tim Scannell, Signly Ambassador signed, “”We’re very excited about our collaboration with Signature. This partnership not only enhances accessibility but also represents another step toward a more inclusive digital world. Together, we’re turning the vision of sign language access everywhere into a reality.” — Tim Scannell, Signly Ambassador.

Lindsay Foster, Executive Director at Signature said, “I am thrilled to be working alongside Signly, a company which shares the same values as Signature. The collaboration will ensure digital inclusion and is a step towards full accessibility.

Adding Signly to Heathlands School's Website: A Step Forward for Accessibility in Education

Since 1975, Heathlands School has been a pillar of excellence in education for deaf children and young people. Living by the vision statement, “Become the best you can be,” Heathlands continually adapts and evolves to offer the best possible teaching, learning and resources to all its students.

This year, the school has taken another step towards enhanced accessibility by integrating Signly onto its website. Signly offers synchronous sign language translations, making digital content effortlessly accessible to the deaf community who use sign language. Heathlands has a large cohort of deaf parents and full accessibility for them is crucial.

Lesley Reeves Costi, Co Headteacher at Heathlands, said, “Integrating Signly is a natural next step in our journey towards full accessibility. Our vision doesn’t just apply to in-classroom learning but extends to how we present ourselves digitally.”

Tim Scannell, Signly, shared his excitement, “Heathlands School is an example of what educational institutions should aspire to be. We’re thrilled to help them make their digital platforms as inclusive as their physical classrooms.”

By adopting Signly, Heathlands School not only ensures that its web content is accessible but also reaffirms its commitment to helping every student become the best they can be, online and offline.

In a world where digital presence is increasingly important, Heathlands School leads by example, showing how accessible technologies can seamlessly integrate into educational settings for the benefit of all. A BSL version is available here.

Contact: Heathlands School, admin@heathlands.herts.sch.uk

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