THE ATM or automated teller machine is a technological creation intended to make our lives easier.
With the ATM, we can access accounts fast, and dirty to make cash withdrawals or advances, check balances and pay bills without the hassle of a long queue at the bank.
Convenient?
So I thought – until my current break – in the literal sense of the word – which resulted in my left leg in a cast and being on crutches 24/7.
Like anyone who is used to being independent, I have a real problem being sedentary - and an even bigger problem with asking for help.
So trying to zip up to an ATM with my ankle in a cast and hobbling on crutches made me realise how disabled-unfriendly these locations are.
Try looking for a POSBank or DBS ATM outside a shopping mall or an office building that does not involve a whole lot of stairs, escalators or any form of climbing.
As the biggest local banks serving the community, they have between the two of them, over 900 ATMs dotting the island.
Where I live, there two ATMs had been set up within a 10-minute walk (30 minutes if you are traversing on crutches), making it convenient for most residents in the area.
But when you have a physical problem, such as a broken bone or when you are simply elderly or less mobile, challenging physical obstacles apparently springs between you and your money.
Suddenly, the simple act of withdrawing cash is no longer a breeze.
My first try was at Coronation Plaza but the ATM there is flanked by two flights of steps.
And to get to the other, located near the Farrer Road market, means stumbling over several steps – definitely no mean feat for the elderly and anyone trying to balance on walking aids.
When I brought this up with friends, they started throwing up ATM locations they thought would be accessible even for people on wheelchairs – and failing.
What about the Posbank branch near the Newton Post Office, my sister finally suggested. The branch is, after all, on the same level as the car park, so how difficult would it be getting to its ATM?
How difficult, indeed.
I hopped in my father’s car and he drove me there as I was filled with hope.
But while the bank is located a stone’s throw from the open-air car park, the ATM was nowhere near. It is in a single-standing vestibule outside the building by the road. To get to the machine, I needed to either use a short slope to its right or the four steps to its left.
A few passers-by who had just used the ATM advised me not to meet the challenge, and to take my chance with the line inside the bank itself.
The only saving grace at this POSBank branch are its staff - in particularly, bank officer Georgina Tang.
She took the initiative to pop out from behind the counter to help – offering to do the transfer of funds to my current account and the withdrawal of cash, all from her desk. The transactions were done with a constant and very genuine smile.
Thank you, Ms Tang.
A check with DBS and POSBank found the two banks face constraints from both building management and Town Councils where ATMs are possibly located.
A spokesman for the banks said both banks try to make the ATMs as user-friendly as possible, with ramps at certain places, catering to those in wheelchairs.
A disabled writer once noted: If an access feature doesn't help the people it's supposed to help get to where they're trying to get, it may as well not be there.
The thing about access for the disabled is it cannot be provided partially.
It is either all or nothing.
For example, a ramp, even if it is built to suitable specifications, is rendered less effective if it is then blocked by steps.
Having only recently been faced with the same problem, I totally commiserate!