The work of keeping any digital user experience accessible is ongoing and never done. I like to think of it as a continuous improvement mindset, not something “solved” with a feature release. The desire to make digital experiences usable for more people should drive everything you do in UX and design, especially when it comes to something as universal and important as making payments through your online payment system.
Beyond striving to make Digital Payments for Everyone, there are naturally compliance deadlines that arise – like the upcoming deadline in April of this year.
In the first episode of our Customer Confidence Series webinar, Designing Payments for Everyone, I explored all things accessible payments, from why accessible experiences are foundational to digital adoption to the details of the ADA Title II guidelines that are about to take effect.
You can watch the whole session above, but if you want to dive deeper into what the deadline means for your utility bill payment solution, insurance payment processing workflows, or broader government payment solutions, keep reading.
The ADA Title II Deadline: What it Means
Title II of the Americans with Disability Act (ADA), enacted in 1990, is a civil rights law that mandates that all public entities, including state and local governments, must provide equal access and non-discriminatory services to individuals with disabilities.
ADA Title II enforcement ramps up in April, with clear timelines and potential penalties for non-compliance. Compliance is required for any organization that is considered part of a state or local government in the U.S., including:
- City, county, and state governments
- Local departments, such as police and fire departments
- Public K-12 schools and public higher education institutions
- Special districts, such as water districts, fire districts, and parks and recreation districts
For organizations managing municipal payments, property tax payments, or online utility bill payments, this is especially important.
To comply with the rule, state and local government organizations must ensure that all web content and mobile apps they make available to the public conform with the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) Level A and AA. That includes social media posts and public electronic documents, as well as web content and mobile apps procured from a third-party payment processing platform, online payment services, or digital bill payment provider.
That last piece is where third-party payment platforms come into play, because if your chosen billing and payments vendor isn’t compliant, your organization could be penalized.
What are WCAG Guidelines?
Under the rule, digital services — including payment platforms — must conform to WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards. But what are the guidelines we’re all adhering to?
A good entry point for understanding the tenants your digital services will be judged on is the WCAG principle often referred to as “POUR”:
- Perceivable: Information and user interface components must be presented in ways that users can sense. This means providing users with options for perceiving content in different ways, for example, by adjusting color contrast, resizing text, or accessing captions for videos.
- Operable: Users must be able to interact with and navigate the user interface in ways that suit their needs. For example, all functions should be accessible via keyboard, voice commands, or other input methods, not just a mouse.
- Understandable: The content and operation of the user interface must be easy to comprehend. Instructions should be clear, and navigation should be intuitive, allowing users to understand and interact with the site without confusion.
- Robust: Content should be robust enough that a broad range of users and assistive technologies can interpret it. As technology evolves, the site should remain accessible and functional for users of relevant assistive tools.
What Should You Expect from Your Payment Vendor?
Under ADA Title II, public entities are responsible for ensuring that even their third-party platforms meet WCAG 2.1 Level A and AA standards. In short, if your payment digital bill payment solution isn’t compliant and doesn’t meet these standards, it’s on your organization to address this.
That means your payment provider should be able to demonstrate:
- Documented WCAG 2.1 AA audits, ideally conducted by a third party assessor
- Manual assistive technology testing
- Clear error messaging and form labeling
- High-contrast, scalable design
- Keyboard-only operability
- Published accessibility documentation (like a VPAT)
Again, in episode one of the Customer Confidence series, I gave some examples of what compliant, inclusive payment experiences should look like. Check out the on-demand recording or request a demo with our team to see inclusive payment design in action.
And if you want to evaluate your digital services for yourself, we’ve got just the resource for you.
Assess Your Digital Readiness Today
Accessibility isn’t just about your payment platform. Your website, forms, PDFs, and mobile views must also meet WCAG 2.1 Level AA standards.
To help organizations prepare, we created a Digital Accessibility Readiness Checklist that webinar attendees received after the session. It walks through:
- What digital assets to evaluate
- Key WCAG requirements
- Testing considerations (including assistive tech)
- Vendor evaluation criteria
- Ongoing monitoring best practices
If you’re serious about increasing digital adoption while lowering support costs, start by understanding where you stand. Download the Digital Accessibility Readiness Checklist and begin evaluating your website and payment experience today.
