Accrediting Barclays' Personal Banking App

Barclays' logoThe Barclays' Mobile Banking App was the first app to receive our accessibility accreditation. The app provides full banking services to millions of Barclays customers via their smartphones and tablets and was completely redesigned, with accessibility built-in at every stage starting with the wireframes.

Klara Wilhelm was Vice President for Mobile Propositions at Barclays at the time and was keen to ensure that accessibility was delivered at every stage of the app's development. As she says, the design and development process was a valuable learning process for everyone involved:

A mobile phone displaying the Barclays Personal Banking App in use"At one time we may have seen accessibility as something bolted on the end of a project but we're now seeing how much more we can achieve when we bring it into the heart of the design process. In this project it started with testing at the early design phases - in fact, we tested the wireframes."

"The user testing by people with disabilities at that point provided real insight into some of the usability issues which were relevant to every user - and I think the team saw then just how valuable this process would be."

AbilityNet's accreditation is based on achieving WCAG (Web Content Accessibility Guidelines) compliance at AA level, with A being the minimum level attainable. AbilityNet's senior consultant Joe Chidzik led the testing processes and advised on the development of the app:

"It's been a real partnership," he explains. "I have worked closely with the development team at every stage, including lots of time spent on-site in their offices. We've been there since the start and we've helped the team at every stage, whether that has been user testing or getting our hands dirty with the code. We do a lot of testing and related work on mobile platforms, including apps, but this is the first time we've been able to give our accreditation to an app so it's a real mark of success for all of us."

Find out more

AbilityNet hosted a webinar about the development of the Barclays Personal Banking App which is available on our site. The recording is recommended viewing for any business manager, designer or developer who wants to know how to place accessibility at the heart of every project.

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