Claimants, nonprofits representing blind and low vision individuals, entered into negotiations with CVS Caremark, a nationwide pharmacy and retailer. Keypads used on the point of sale devices (credit card readers) at CVS locations featured only digital keys on a touch screen. Such screens are impossible to use for those visually impaired individuals who must use touch to determine what keys to press. As a result, customers were forced to tell the cashier their Personal Identification Number (PIN), resulting in significant privacy and security issues.

Following negotiations, CVS entered into a settlement agreement in 2009, under which it agreed to begin installing tactile keypads on their point of sale devices, first in California and later across the country. These keypads allowed users to know what button they were pressing by touch. These new devices would attach to the point of sale devices and allow the visually impaired to keep their PIN private. Each store was to be equipped with at least one device for each service offered (pharmacy, photo counter, and front counter) as well as a potential floating device for when demand was elsewhere in the store.

The case is now closed.

Abe Hiatt - 02/27/2013


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