E*TRADE worked with representatives of the blind community to enhance its platforms for traders and investors with visual impairments:

“Having full access to financial investing tools is important for everyone,” says Pratik Patel, a long-time E*TRADE customer who is blind. "I’m happy that E*TRADE will make its web and mobile platforms more accessible, particularly for people who are blind or partially sighted, when it comes to all aspects of trading and investing.”

“I congratulate E*TRADE for its commitment to access and usability, and for its leadership role in making its financial tools available to everyone,” says Victor Tsaran, another blind E*TRADE customer who, like Mr. Patel, assisted in the initiative.

E*TRADE adopted the Web Content Accessibility Guidelines (WCAG) version 2.0 level AA as its website accessibility standard, and has made substantial enhancements in meeting this standard.

The WCAG 2.0 Guidelines ensure that websites are more accessible to persons with visual and other disabilities and do not affect digital content or the visual layout of the websites, mobile applications, or other online tools. The Guidelines are of particular benefit to blind computer users who use screen reader voice output, braille output or magnification technology on their computers and mobile devices and who, like many individuals with mobility impairments, rely on a keyboard instead of a mouse for navigation.

W3C is an international community that develops open standards to ensure the long-term growth of the Web. The Web Accessibility Initiative is a program of the W3C that works with site owners, developers, people with disabilities and other interested parties to develop accessibility standards, including WCAG 2.0. More information is available at https://www.w3.org/WAI/.