Digital Payments: A Framework for Inclusive Design

Sebastian Hernandez, Alexandra Sutton-Lalani, John Miedema, Virginie Cobigo, Fatoumata Bah, Munazza Tahir, Danika Lévesque and Badr Omrane

No 2024-15, Discussion Papers from Bank of Canada

Abstract: We explore how digital payments, which dominate the payment landscape in Canada, can be made more cognitively accessible. In particular, we are focused on removing cognitive barriers present in many digital interfaces and products. We propose an inclusive approach since involving people with cognitive disabilities in design, testing, and refinement is crucial. The proposed framework centers on system learnability and user workload as the two key measures of cognitive accessibility in digital payment and banking interfaces. System learnability is determined by measuring first use learnability, steepness of the learning curve and efficiency of the ultimate plateau. Workload is determined by the sub-measures mental demand, temporal demand, frustration and performance. The framework is broadly applicable to digital and electronic payment methods. We develop and test a prototype interface for voice payments, which successfully demonstrates that the framework provides an effective iterative design approach to enhance cognitive accessibility and usability. The Bank of Canada can use this framework to create guidelines for more cognitively accessible electronic payment products, including a potential Digital Canadian Dollar. While the framework facilitates efficient evaluation, further validation is still needed. This framework should also be used with broader holistic usability and accessibility testing, recognizing that cognitive accessibility is just one aspect of the user experience.

Keywords: Accessibility; Bank notes; Central bank research; Digital currencies and fintech; Digitalization; Financial services (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: A14 C90 D83 O33 Y80 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Pages: 29 pages
Date: 2024-10
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ban, nep-mon and nep-pay
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