Royal Bank of Scotland, coinciding with Deaf Awareness week, is launching a new service for British Sign Language (BSL) customers, making it possible to instantly chat with the bank through a BSL interpreter. The free service is available via the Royal Bank of Scotland and NatWest website and the SignVideo mobile app. Deaf and hard of hearing BSL customers will be able to talk to an advisor using their computer, tablet or smartphone via a secure video call which instantly connects to a British Sign Language interpreter, who then phones the RBS contact centre to relay the conversation in real time. There are approximately 150,000 deaf BSL users in the UK who will be able to benefit from the new service. RBS CFO and executive sponsor for disability Ewen Stevenson said RBS wants to be the number one bank in the UK for customer service, trust and advocacy. This means striving to be inclusive for all of customers. In partnering with SignVideo, RBS hopes to make a real difference to the lives of the deaf and hearing impaired customers, he said.
