“How to Improve Accessibility of Banking Services” event on 1 July, in Brussels & online
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Tuesday, 1 July 2025, from 09.00 to 15.00 (CET)
Avenue des Arts 56, Brussels and online
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On 28 June 2025, the European Accessibility Act will come into full effect, setting binding accessibility requirements for digital financial services. With more than 101 million Europeans living with a disability, this is a critical milestone for inclusion across the financial sector.
How are banks preparing? What best practices are already in place? And what more can be done?
Join us for this high-level event to hear from key policymakers, accessibility experts, and financial sector leaders discussing the best cases already implemented by banks across Europe. Moreover, the event will discuss improvements in removing barriers in financial services by delivering more accessible and inclusive services.
Agenda
8:15 – 09:00 Registration and Welcome Coffee
The event will be presented by Guillaume Dufresne
09:00 – 09:30 Opening remarks
- Jesús Hernández, Director of the European Accessibility Resource Centre, AccessibleEU
- Inmaculada Placencia Porrero, Senior Expert in Disability at Directorate-General (DG) Justice, European Commission
- María Abascal, Chair of Executive Committee, European Banking Federation
- Lars Bosselmann, Executive Director, European Blind Union Central Office
09:30 – 09:45 Keynote speech
- Maria Luis Albuquerque, Commissioner for Financial Services and the Savings and Investments Union, European Commission
09:45 – 10:30 Panel 1: Strategic panel
Moderated by: Inmaculada Placencia Porrero, Senior Expert in Disability at Directorate-General (DG) Justice, European Commission
- Alejandro Moledo, Deputy Director, European Disability Forum
- Heidrun Mollenkopf, President, AGE Platform Europe
10:30 – 11:15 Panel 2: Accessibility Challenges for Banking Services
This panel will provide an overview of the main challenges experienced by users to benefit from inclusive and accessible financial services.
Moderated by: Julia Wadoux, Policy Manager on Healthy Ageing and Accessibility, AGE Platform Europe
- Sébastien de Brouwer, Deputy Chief Executive Officer, European Banking Federation
- Luis Palomares, Head of the Information and Accessibility Unit from Organizacion Nacional Ciegos Españoles
- Carin van der Cruijsen, Dutch National Bank
Q & A with panelists and audience
11:15 – 12:00 Panel 3: Enhancing User Experience of Banking Services
Creating an accessible banking experience requires a focus on usability. This panel will cover the latest progress for designing user-friendly interfaces, accessible authentication methods, accessible payment terminals, and improving digital banking security.
Moderated by: Anna Martin, Head of Financial Services, BEUC (The European Consumer Organisation)
- Jakob Rosin, National Expert for AccessibleEU in Estonia, President of the Estonian Blind Union, Board Member and Head of the taskforce on accessible payment terminals at the European Blind Union
- Erik Gustafsson Spagnoli and Daniel Göransson Accessibility specialists (CPWA) at Axess Lab
- Hendrik Bourgeois, Senior Vice President Public Policy and Government Affairs, MasterCard
Q & A with panelists and audience
12:00 – 13:00 Lunch Break
13:00 – 13:45 Panel 4: Making Online Payments Accessible
Digital payments are at the core of modern banking, but many payment methods still pose accessibility challenges. This session will examine how financial institutions can benefit from the EAA to remove barriers in payment systems, ensuring seamless and secure transactions for people with disabilities and older people.
Moderated by: Klaus Miesenberger, Senior Expert of AccessibleEU and Assistant Professor in Computer Science at the University of Linz
- Mariana Santos, Policy Officer at Directorate-General (DG) Financial Stability, Financial Services and Capital Markets Union, European Commission
- Andreas Havsberg, EBU Board and Board Member, Norwegian Association of Blind and Partially sighted
- Lisa Andexlinger, Product Management, KEBA
Q & A with panelists and audience
13:45 – 14:30 Panel 5: Good Practices in Banking Accessibility – Lessons from Successful Initiatives
This session will highlight real-world examples of successful accessibility initiatives in banking. Representatives from banks, fintech, and advocacy groups will share best practices, lessons learned, and innovative approaches that have positively impacted customers with disabilities and older people. The discussion will also emphasize collaboration between financial institutions, policymakers, and user communities.
Moderated by: Simon Vervaet, European Affairs Counsel, Febelfin
- Sophie Allain des Beauvais, Digital Euro Consumers and Merchants Proposition Expert, European Central Bank
- Freddy Jussien, Advocacy Lead, Inclusion Europe
- Ciara Drain, Head of Vulnerable Customer Unit, AIB
- Benedicte Bedaine Renault, Head of sustainability for BPCE Payments’ business
Q & A with panelists and audience
14:30 – 15:00 Closing Remarks
- Jesús Hernández, Director of the European Accessibility Resource Centre, AccessibleEU
- Inmaculada Placencia Porrero, Senior Expert in Disability at Directorate-General (DG) Justice, European Commission
- Wim Mijs, Chief Executive Officer, European Banking Federation