Supporting inclusive design across the UK payments industry

UK Finance is pleased to launch the Code of Practice for Accessible Cards, a new benchmark developed to support financial institutions in designing payment cards that are easier to use for people with visual impairments and other access needs.

This Code sets out a minimum standard for accessible card design which covers tactile features, high-contrast elements, and usability considerations that help make cards more inclusive. It is intended as a guide, rather than a mandate. Adoption of the Code is optional, and organisations are encouraged to use it as a foundation for innovation and improvement.

Why this code matters

Using cards is a vital part of everyday life. Yet for many blind and partially sighted people, changes in card design, such as the move from embossed to flat cards, have made it much harder to identify and impeded the ability to use their cards independently. This Code helps address those challenges by offering practical design principles that can be implemented across the industry.

A step toward greater inclusion

This Code of Practice is part of UK Finance’s wider initiative to improve accessibility in payments. Like our other codes of practice, it aims to foster consistency, raise awareness, and support better outcomes for consumers, while leaving room for flexibility and innovation.

We invite financial institutions, designers, accessibility advocates, and members of the public to explore the Code and consider how its principles can be applied.

Together, we can build a payments ecosystem that works for everyone.

Name of Firm	Type of Firm (issuer / payment scheme / manufacturer)	Business/Product lines that will use the Code	Business/Product lines that will not use the Code
Barclays plc legal entities: Barclays Bank UK PLC Tesco Bank (Barclays Bank UK PLC trading as Tesco Bank) Barclays Bank PLC	Issuer	Retail Banking Barclaycard Personal Credit Cards Barclays Personal Debit Cards Business Banking Barclays Business Debit Cards Tesco Bank Credit Cards Corporate Issuing Barclaycard Commercial Cards Barclays Corporate Debit Card	Retail Banking Selected co-brand personal credit cards Tesco Bank Debit Cards Private Bank and Wealth Management All Credit and Debit Cards (note all debit cards have a curved notch already)
Chase	Issuer	Debit and credit cards	N/A
HSBC Holdings PLC – in scope issuer is HSBC Bank UK plc	Issuer	All mass consumer debit and credit cards	All debit cards already have a notch as standard for all customers. Mastercard cards will be updated with new notch designs in 2026. Other business lines excluded for now (first direct, M&S Bank). Initial launch relates to retail customers only (with an intention to extend to all other products and services to include Commercial Business cards)
Idemia	Manufacturer	N/A	N/A
Lloyds Banking Group PLC legal entities: Lloyds Bank plc and Bank of Scotland plc (including the Halifax brand)	Issuer	Consumer Debit and payment (ATM cards) Consumer Credit Business Debit	Business Credit
Mastercard Europe SA	Payment Network	N/A	N/A
Monzo Bank Limited	Issuer	All cards	N/A
Nationwide Building Society	Issuer	Existing Debit, Credit, Savings Product Lines starting with debit, credit and savings cards	Will look to include all future product lines
NatWest Group plc: National Westminster Bank plc, Royal Bank of Scotland plc and Coutts & Company Limited	Issuer	Personal Debit Cards Personal Credit Cards Business Debit Cards Business Credit Cards Commercial Debit Cards Commercial Credit Cards RoosterMoney NatWest Boxed Coutts	N/A
Santander UK plc	Issuer	Retail Debit, Credit & Cash Business Debit, Credit & Cash Corporate Debit & Credit Post Office cards Non scheme cards	N/A
Starling Bank Limited	Issuer	All cards	N/A
Thales	Manufacturer	N/A	N/A
Vanquis Bank Limited	Issuer	All personal credit cards	N/A
Visa Europe Limited	Payment Network	N/A	N/A

UK Finance Accessible Cards Code (26/03/2026)

PDF: 505 KB

Area of expertise:

Payments, innovation & resilience

Supporting inclusive design across the UK payments industry

27.03.25

Guidance

New accessibility guidelines launched for payment cards

UK Finance has today launched its Accessible Cards Code of Practice, designed to help customers with accessibility needs or impaired vision use payment cards in store and online.

Read the press release