As Brookline Bank – now the 10th-largest bank in Massachusetts – grew its assets, it also outgrew a private, industry-sponsored deposit insurance fund. Image courtesy of Brookline Bank
Brookline Bancorp and technology company Aira have teamed up to enhance physical and digital accessibility at all customer locations within the Brookline Bancorp network, including the 51 combined offices of Brookline Bank, First Ipswich Bank and Bank Rhode Island. The Aira Access Network will offer free services to blind and low-vision employees and customers at all Brookline Bancorp locations. The service will also provide assistance in navigating the website and conducting online and mobile banking.
“We are excited to have Brookline Bancorp be the first financial organization in the Northeast to provide free Aira Access for its website, digital services and physical locations,” Suman Kanuganti, founder and president of Aira, said in a statement. “Brookline Bancorp’s banks have strong reputations in their regions for building and enhancing customer relationships, and this partnership marks yet another step forward in improving experiences for the blind and low-vision community.”
The new Aira service helps customers locate a bank branch, reach a teller, access ATMs, use the bank website and conduct online and mobile banking. Bank customers use the Aira app on a smartphone to reach an Aira representative, who then guides them through the banking steps that they need to perform. The Aira app uses the cameras on customers’ phones to help navigate banking services.
“While the Aira technology is designed to help blind and low-vision populations, this initiative is also about our ongoing efforts to make banking easier for all our customers and to be a leader in customer service,” Paul Perrault, president and CEO of Brookline Bancorp, said in a statement. “We chose Aira to expand accessibility not only at our physical bank locations, but also for our digital offerings.”
Customers can use the Aira app to connect with trained professionals who deliver information about a user’s surroundings and work with them to complete any number of tasks, such as using an ATM touchscreen, entering and moving around a bank branch or navigating within the bank’s online banking and mobile banking systems. Aira’s agents have signed strict non-disclosure clauses to ensure that a user’s privacy is protected. Additional safeguards, including a privacy mode, have been built into the app.
A recently announced collaborative pilot between Aira and the MBTA will also give customers access to free Aira services through AccessAI. Many of Brookline Bank locations are near MBTA stations.
