A 10-year campaign on behalf of blind people paid off yesterday as a Bank of China cash machine became Hong Kong's first "talking" ATM.
But campaigners still want to know why it took so long when the first such machine started operating in Canada in 1997 and developing countries like the Philippines already have them.
The Bank of China says the new machine, at its branch on Hoi Yuen Road, Kwun Tong, is the first of eight to come into operation this year.
Blind and partially sighted people can plug in headphones to hear options and instructions.
"The need for friendly facilities in banking has been talked about for 10 years," Tony Shing Li-lim, executive director of the Hong Kong Federation for the Blind, said.
"The machines are easy to operate, and solve the problem of dependency ... But we hope these ATMs will quickly replace other ones, especially as many other countries have adopted them long ago."
