- In the online world, product safety and consumer rights depend on digital accessibility. Yet, fraud-detection systems can flag assistive technologies as suspicious, leaving people with disabilities locked out of banking and payment apps.
- 4 in 10 UK consumers have abandoned a website or online shop because the text was too small or navigation too complicated; more than half of those said it had happened on multiple occasions (Accessiway consumer research, November 2025).
- 2.3 million UK adults have specific accessibility requirements when contacting financial services providers, and fewer than half say their provider makes the necessary adjustments (FCA Financial Lives 2024).
- The European Accessibility Act came into force in June 2025, making digital accessibility a legal requirement for e-commerce, banking and travel services across the EU, including for UK businesses serving European consumers.
Introduction
11 March 2026 – On World Consumer Rights Day, digital accessibility provider Accessiway is warning that many of the consumer interactions where rights matter most – from warranty claims to fraud warnings and contract terms – now take place online. Yet these are also where digital accessibility often fails.
When safety alerts cannot be read aloud, payment forms cannot be navigated by keyboard, or security systems mistake assistive technologies for suspicious behaviour, the right to information, security and redress is out of reach.
More than 16 million people in the UK live with a disability, many relying on assistive technologies to navigate the web. Yet the systems they depend on are too often built without them in mind.
As bank branches close, health services shift to digital-first models and government transactions move to apps and portals, the assumption that everyone can simply log on is not supported by evidence. Accessibility is not keeping pace with digitalisation, and it is people with disabilities, older people and those with lower digital confidence that are paying the price.
On this World Consumer Rights Day Accessiway is calling on businesses, governments and regulators to ensure accessibility is not left behind in the shift to digital-first services.
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When Safety Systems become Barriers
One of the clearest examples is in financial services. Modern fraud detection systems often look for unusual behaviour rather than asking users to complete a CAPTCHA. But for people using assistive technologies, including screen readers, voice control software or screen magnification, those interactions deviate from what the system recognises as typical.
More broadly, accessibility barriers remain common across financial services. The FCA’s Financial Lives 2024 survey found that 30% of adults with accessibility requirements had their preferred communication method withdrawn by a provider in the previous year. In total, 2.3 million UK adults say they have specific accessibility requirements when contacting financial services providers, yet fewer than half say those adjustments are consistently made.
Amit Borsok, CEO and Co-founder, Accessiway, said: “Many fraud prevention systems are invisible. Instead of showing you a CAPTCHA, they analyse how you behave online. But assistive technologies change how people interact with digital services. When those differences are treated as suspicious activity, the tools meant to keep services secure can end up locking out people with disabilities.”
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The Scale of the Problem
The WebAIM Million Report 2025 found that 94.8% of websites contain accessibility errors, with e-commerce platforms showing 39.8% more errors than the web average, with low colour contrast, unlabelled form fields and ambiguous links among the most common failures. As populations age, these barriers increasingly affect a wider group, including older people experiencing changes in vision, dexterity or cognitive processing.
The consequences for consumers are tangible. Accessiway research published in November 2025, based on a survey of 1,000 nationally representative UK adults, found that 4 in 10 consumers (40.7%) had abandoned a website, app or online shop because of accessibility or design issues, with more than half saying it had happened on multiple occasions. Six in ten consumers (60.4%) say websites, apps or digital services are difficult to use because of design or accessibility issues. There is a direct commercial cost too: more than half (57%) of those who experience digital barriers say the issues would put them off shopping online during major sales events, while over a quarter said it already had.
Jacopo Deyla, Chief Accessibility Officer, Accessiway, said: “Consumer law gives people the right to information, safety and redress. But those rights depend on being able to access the digital services through which they are delivered. When a fraud alert cannot be read, or a payment cannot be completed, the right exists on paper but not in practice. Accessibility has to be part of how digital services are built, not an afterthought.”
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Regulatory Context: UK and Europe
In the UK, digital accessibility obligations for private sector organisations fall primarily under the Equality Act 2010, which requires service providers to make “reasonable adjustments” for people with disabilities, with WCAG 2.2 AA widely recognised as the practical benchmark. The European Accessibility Act (EAA), which came into force in June 2025, goes further, extending mandatory requirements to e-commerce, banking, online booking and travel services across the EU. Critically, it applies to any organisation serving EU consumers, including UK businesses. Accessiway’s research found that 57.9% of UK adults want stronger action to ensure all digital services are accessible.
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About Accessiway
Accessiway is Europe’s fastest-growing digital accessibility company, committed to making the internet truly inclusive for people with disabilities. Founded in 2021, Accessiway combines automation with human expertise to help organisations meet international standards such as WCAG 2.2 and the European Accessibility Act (EAA). With a team of over 120 specialists supporting more than 2,000 clients across Italy, France, Austria, Germany and the UK, Accessiway works with organisations in e-commerce, finance, public services, education, and technology. In 2024, Accessiway joined team.blue, one of Europe’s leading digital services providers, accelerating its reach, product innovation and compliance impact across the continent.