Showing the Devices Are Unable to Differentiate Real from Fake Bank Notes, Denying Meaningful Access to US Currency as Required by Law
The Treasury Department's Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP) is readying to distribute an electronic, handheld free currency reader to eligible blind and sight impaired U.S. citizens and legal permanent residents in 2015 that cannot differentiate a real from a fake bank note. The initial program will cost a minimum of $15 million in taxpayer monies.
The BEP's program is the result of a 2006 federal court ruling, affirmed by a federal appeals court in 2008. The court held that the U.S. Treasury Department's failure to issue currency with tactile or color distinguishing features, or provide currency readers, discriminates against the visually impaired in violation of both the Rehabilitation Act and Americans with Disabilities Act. The BEP was required to initiate plans for "meaningful access to US currency for the visually impaired" within 30 days of the ruling.
Gary Parish, CEO of Complete Inspection Systems that invented a currency reader years ago that can determine bank note authenticity, responded to the BEP's plans:
"The American Federation for the Blind concludes that 20.6 million, or about 10 percent of the American adult population, suffers from serious visual impairment. 1.3 million of these individuals are legally blind. Over one million live below the poverty line. While a free currency reader program is necessary, issuing a reader that cannot differentiate between funny money and real money provides the visually impaired little to no value. In fact, these readers may encourage the visually impaired to be less prudent with money, trusting untrustworthy technology."
Parish has supported the visually impaired since the 1980s, when he created a camera-based vision system to help his brother read. Parish's brother has one prosthetic eye and 20/400 vision in his other eye, allowing him to identify large print. Parish's most recent products include HD Barcode™, which can hold 175 times more data (including text and images) than today's 2D barcodes, enabling entire label content to be scanned and read out loud. Parish also developed the first Braille Verification System that enables commercial verification and accuracy of Braille-printed information.
According to Parish, "My company is committed to producing a currency reader that dependably reads and authenticates bank notes. We will not watch those like my brother get shortchanged by bad technology."
"Of the more than 180 countries that issue paper currency," Judge James Robertson wrote in his 2006 District Court ruling "only the United States prints bills that are identical in size and color in all their denominations. Every other issuer includes at least some features that help the visually impaired." While other nations provide for tactile, color and size differentiation between issued currency, the US issued its first color-blocked $100 bill in 2013, and no other changes will be introduced until 2020.
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