Have you ever imagined yourself being a secondary account holder to your bank account? All the time you need money you have to be with someone to support you to withdraw your own money.

This is what persons with visual impairment go through almost all their lives. Have you ever imagined yourself being in the shoes of a person of short stature and you can’t walk smartly to the ATM to withdraw your own money only to be told that you have to get someone to support you as if you can’t do it alone?

These are a few examples, but many persons with disabilities find it difficult to be part of the money economy because from the onset they have been excluded.

National Union of Disabled Persons of Uganda (NUDIPU) with some of its member organizations of persons with disabilities representatives recently presented a petition on total financial inclusion for persons with disabilities to the leadership of the Uganda Bankers’​ Association.

Key among the issues that should be addressed include;

 Most banks have inaccessible infrastructure this is evidenced by buildings that don’t have ramps and elevators among other features.

People of little stature & and those using wheelchairs can’t access ATMs not even teller tables thus do not get attention.

Access to financial information by those with hearing impairment is still challenging. Some have to move with pens & and paper to make inquiries & and the patience of bank tellers to give them attention is never there. Some staff can learn sign language to communicate with the deaf or develop key content in different formats such as video, and audio among others to help some persons with disabilities access financial information.

The Executive Director of Uganda Bankers Association, Wilbrod Owor shared having total financial inclusion is a journey they want to take. They have a lot to learn about disability inclusion and they are willing to talk to their members.

As an umbrella organization for persons with disabilities, we look forward to seeing banks adjust to some of the requests of its people. We live in a world where financial independence is very important and this is not exclusive to persons with disabilities.

At an individual level, they also want to manage their finances but the financial institutions have not been welcoming to many of them.