Bank of Baroda has launched Indian Sign Language (ISL) support through video calls at its Contact Centre, enabling customers with hearing or speech impairments to access banking assistance through specially trained ISL interpreters. According to reports from The Hindu BusinessLine, the service is available across five key customer touch points: website, mobile banking app, WhatsApp Banking, Phygital Branches, and ADI (GenAI-powered chatbot). To support this initiative, the bank has undertaken a special hiring initiative to on-board customer service associates trained in Indian Sign Language to effectively serve customers with hearing or speech impairments.
Customers opting for the video call feature can choose between 'Video Call with Voice' and 'Video Call with Sign Language'. Upon selecting the Sign Language option, the call is routed to a trained customer service associate for real-time assistance. As reported by The Hindu BusinessLine, the service will be available from 09:00 AM to 06:00 PM, covering all non-financial banking services, assistance with digital banking products and services, general banking queries, and support for product enquiries and service requests.
Debadatta Chand, Managing Director & CEO, stated that this initiative enables customers with hearing or speech impairments to manage their banking needs independently, with dignity and ease, while setting a new benchmark in the industry. According to The Hindu BusinessLine, this launch represents a significant step forward in accessible banking services for the hearing-impaired community, further strengthening the bank's efforts to enhance accessibility and empower customers to engage with banking services confidently and without barriers.
