A world first from Papara: Voice Card for visually impaired users

Papara, the market-leading Turkish fintech, today announces the launch of its Voice Card, the world’s first debit card enabling swift and easy transactions and payments for visually impaired users by audio technology.

Voice Card will make payments audio-enabled to allow visually impaired people to perform make fast, easy and secure payments.

Developed by Papara alongside Mastercard, Thales and BlindLook – the organisation developing freedom technologies for the blind – the Voice Card is the first of its kind in the world. It will provide blind and visually impaired users with a new, vital and convenient tool to carry out transactions and payments.

Visually impaired users can hear the transaction amount with Voice Card

To be used, Papara’s Voice Card must be linked up to the Papara app on a user’s mobile phone. Once it is inserted at a Voice Card POS payment terminal the user will hear the amount due to be paid on their phone.

The product launch comes just one year after Papara formally announced its partnership with BlindLook. Through BlindLook’s voice-oriented technology, visually impaired users can use the debit card without any external assistance, allowing them to manage their finances safely and independently for the first time.

Papara’s CEO, Emre Kenci, said, “Papara is a leading company in its field and are set on providing financial freedom to all. It is in our DNA to remove the borders, change the rules and provide freedom when it comes to finances. We believe that every organisation has responsibilities towards society and demonstrated this commitment by partnering with BlindLook last year. This year, we are saying ‘Papara heard the voice’. There are over 285 million visually impaired people across the world, so often left behind by the financial services ecosystem, and Voice Card is the next step in enabling these individuals to live financially free lives.”

Avsar Gurdal, General Manager, Mastercard Turkey and Azerbaijan said, “For more than 50 years, Mastercard has pioneered technology to make payments simpler, smarter and safer. By connecting individuals, businesses and organizations in more than 210 countries and territories today, we’re unlocking opportunity for more people in more places for generations to come. In fact, as in all our products, the most important feature we have added to Voice Card is our international network and the high security that Mastercard undertakes in every payment transaction. As Mastercard, financial inclusion and accessibility are crucial for us. The democratization of payments and the construction of sustainable economies are only possible if each individual has access to the system. We are very happy to be involved in this project and to enable Voice Card to accept payments all over the world.”

Ali Yildiz, Thales Country Director for Turkey and Azerbaijan said, “At Thales we know innovation has the potential to solve a multitude of issues. That’s why we are delighted to collaborate with Papara and put our technology at the service of blind and visually impaired people autonomy. They have selected the Voice Payment Card to demonstrate their commitment to a more inclusive society. We are thrilled to see our innovations contribute to building more sustainable and responsible payment solutions.”

BlindLook Co-Founder Sadriye Görece said, “A world where everyone can live freely and independently is possible for us as BlindLook. The transformation of this world is accompanied by leading brands such as Papara, one of our partners. In addition, with this new product, Papara supports the self-confidence required for the visually impaired to participate in life independently and the independence effort of the visually impaired individuals. While this product meets the needs of the visually impaired individual, it provides the accessibility, trust and speed required in the payment process. We would like to thank all the partners who took part in the birth of this product, which is a first in the world, for this step they took for an equal and barrier-free world to exist. “