Mastercard and UniCredit Bank Austria present the Touch Cardᵀᴹ
- Mastercard and UniCredit Bank Austria revolutionise card payments for visually impaired and blind people with the innovative Touch Card™
- Debit and credit cards for all UniCredit Bank Austria customers now with two different notches for easy differentiation
- Milestone for greater accessibility and inclusion for all people in Austria
- Emotional campaign video with para-athletes Veronika and Elisabeth Aigner
An innovative design is revolutionising payment transactions for blind and visually impaired people in Austria: together with Mastercard, UniCredit Bank Austria is the first Austrian financial institution to introduce the Touch Card™ - a payment card that is recognisable by touch thanks to a notch.*
Different notches on the side of the card - round for debit cards and square for credit cards - enable blind and visually impaired people to identify their payment card independently and in a matter of seconds. And they can do this worldwide, both when paying online and in shops.
The Touch Card™ is not only an accessible innovation for blind and visually impaired people, but also a practical solution for anyone who wants to recognise their cards immediately, even in poor light or in confusing situations.
The card design, developed in collaboration with renowned organisations such as the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) and VISIONS, also combines inclusion with environmental awareness: Made from recycled PVC, each Touch Card™ bears the Mastercard Sustainable Card Badge.
Inclusion through innovation
With this development, Mastercard and UniCredit Bank Austria are jointly setting a milestone towards a more inclusive society and at the same time strengthening their commitment to accessible technologies.
“Customer-orientation also means removing barriers - for everyone”, says Robert Zadrazil, Country Manager Austria UniCredit. “We have been intensively committed to accessibility for over ten years and are pioneers in this area. It is therefore our aim to provide all customers with the best possible access to our services. We are the first bank in Austria to offer the Mastercard Touch Card™, which will be the card of choice for all UniCredit Bank Austria debit and credit cards in the future.”
“Together with UniCredit Bank Austria, we are setting new standards for barrier-free banking and showing how innovation and inclusion can go hand in hand”, explains Michael Brönner, Country Manager Mastercard Austria. “The Touch Card™ shows that great innovations don't have to be complicated. A simple notch makes card payments accessible to everyone - that's what we mean by true inclusion.”
The importance of this innovation is demonstrated particularly impressively in the lives of successful para-athlete Veronika Aigner and her sister and guide Elisabeth, who together with their family are part of an emotional campaign video for the Touch Card™. The two Lower Austrians, who recently won gold in the giant slalom for visually impaired women at the Para-Ski World Championships in Maribor, are enthusiastic about the Touch Card™. Mastercard has also been the head sponsor of the two athletes since 2023 and supports them on their sporting journey. “The Touch Card™ is a real relief for us in everyday life. We can finally differentiate between our cards quickly and independently - it gives us a new sense of freedom and independence”, explains Veronika Aigner.
Touch Card™: A solution for an increasingly inclusive world
Around 253 million people worldwide live with visual impairments1, including around 30 million in Europe and around 300,000 in Austria2. Forecasts show that the number of visually impaired people worldwide could triple by 2050. The reason for this is an ageing population and changing lifestyles.3 The Touch Card™ therefore not only addresses a current need, but also a social development.
On 28 June 2025, the Accessibility Act will also come into force in Austria, which increases the requirements for companies and gives people with disabilities equal access to certain products and services. With the introduction of the Touch Card™, Mastercard and UniCredit Bank Austria are going above and beyond these requirements to actively contribute to a more inclusive society.
Strong commitment to more inclusion in Austria
Mastercard pursues the goal of promoting inclusion and equal opportunities worldwide. In Austria, Mastercard is committed to the inclusion of visually impaired people through the introduction of the Touch CardTM, art education programmes at the Belvedere and through its long-standing support as the proud head sponsor of para-athlete Veronika Aigner and her sister and guide Elisabeth.
UniCredit Bank Austria is a pioneer in the field of accessibility and inclusion and is a leading provider of accessible financial services. 100 per cent of its branches are barrier-free, including tactile guidance systems for people with visual impairments, mobile induction devices for people with hearing impairments and self-service devices that are suitable for wheelchair users and have a keyboard with voice output. The bank also offers comprehensive barrier-free online services. The pioneering advisory service in sign language via video received the Zero Project Award.
About Mastercard
(NYSE: MA) is an international payments technology company. Our goal is to drive an inclusive, digital economy that benefits all stakeholders worldwide. That is why we ensure that payments are processed securely, easily and efficiently and made accessible to everyone. Our innovations and solutions are based on secure data and networks and help individuals, financial institutions, governments and companies to realise their full potential. Our "Decency Quotient" characterises our corporate culture and all our activities. With connections in more than 210 countries and territories, we contribute to a sustainable world that opens up diverse opportunities for all.
About UniCredit Bank Austria
UniCredit Bank Austria is one of the leading and best capitalised major banks in Austria and part of UniCredit, a pan-European commercial bank with a unique service offering in Italy, Germany, Austria and Central and Eastern Europe. Our purpose is to empower communities to progress, delivering the best-in-class for all stakeholders, unlocking the potential of our people and our clients across Europe. Digitalisation and our commitment to ESG principles are key enablers for our service. They help us deliver excellence to our stakeholders and creating a sustainable future for our clients, our communities and our people.
Enquiries:
Mastercard Austria
Ketchum GmbH
Florentina Perschy
mastercard@ketchum.at
Tel.: +43 664 80869146
UniCredit Bank Austria
Matthias Raftl
matthias.raftl@unicreditgroup.at
Phone: +43(0)50505-52809
| * | The Touch Card™ was developed worldwide for debit, credit and prepaid cards with different notches. In Austria, UniCredit Bank Austria offers its customers the debit and credit card as a Touch CardTM. |
| 1 | The Lancet (2017): Magnitude, temporal trends, and projections of the global prevalence of blindness and distance and near vision impairment |
| 2 | Austrian Association for the Blind and Visually Impaired |
| 3 | The Lancet (2021): Global Health Commission on Global Eye Health: vision beyond 2020 |