KUALA LUMPUR: Bank Rakyat and Mastercard have collaborated to integrate Mastercard’s Touch Card™ feature into a selected range of bank cards. Developed by Mastercard, the Touch Card™ features simple yet distinct notches to help blind and partially sighted cardholders identify their credit, debit and prepaid cards.
The Touch Card™ was designed with accessibility in mind to bring a greater sense of security, inclusivity and independence to the 2.2 billion people around the world with visual impairments. In Malaysia, the Department of Statistics Malaysia (DOSM) reports that there are almost 64,000 people who are visually impaired1.
As more cards move to flat designs without embossed names and numbers, identifying cards can become challenging for individuals with visual impairments. The Touch Card™ addresses this by incorporating a distinctive tactile notch design, cut from the short edge, with up to three variations — rounded for debit, squared for credit and triangular for prepaid — so anyone can identify their cards with just a touch and correctly orient them when making payments or using ATMs.
Since April 2025, Bank Rakyat has been using the Touch Card™ feature for two of its existing portfolios: the Bank Rakyat Muslimah Credit Card-i, a Shariah-compliant credit card specifically for women, will feature a squarish notch, and the Bank Rakyat Debit Card-i, which will have a rounded notch.
Prior to this rollout, Bank Rakyat worked with Persatuan Orang-Orang Cacat Penglihatan Islam Malaysia (PERTIS) to gain valuable insights into the challenges faced by individuals with visual impairments. These insights laid the foundation of its collaboration with Mastercard, supporting the introduction of the Touch Card™ to its customers in Malaysia. Through this initiative, the Bank established a collaboration with PERTIS, and as of April 2025, the first 30 PERTIS members to receive the Touch Card™ have each received an RM200 incentive via the Bank Rakyat Debit Card-i. This initiative reinforces Bank Rakyat’s efforts to customer-centric banking and inclusivity – being the first Islamic bank in Malaysia to launch such an innovation – while aligning with Mastercard’s commitment to creating more accessible and inclusive payment experiences globally.
“At its core, Mastercard is committed to fostering a more inclusive economy that works for people from all walks of life. The integration of Mastercard’s Touch Card™ design with Bank Rakyat, the first Islamic bank in Malaysia to adopt this feature, reflects Mastercard’s dedication to working with like-minded partners globally to enhance accessibility and inclusivity. Today, Mastercard is excited to put this simple but very meaningful design solution at the fingertips of Malaysians. The Touch Card™ empowers partially sighted and blind individuals by providing an intuitive and easy way to identify and use their bank cards with just a touch, so that they can also benefit from the convenience, control and
security that card payments offer,” said Beena Pothen, Country Manager, Malaysia and Brunei, Mastercard.
“Financial services should be inclusive and accessible to everyone. The introduction of the Touch Card™ reflects Bank Rakyat’s commitment to enhancing banking experiences for all Malaysians, including those with visual impairments. Through our collaboration with PERTIS and Mastercard, we have integrated the Touch Card™ feature into selected card offerings to meet the specific needs of the visually impaired community, going beyond compliance to deliver solutions that genuinely improve everyday banking,” said Ahmad Shahril Mohd Shariff, Bank Rakyat’s Chief Executive Officer.
This collaboration is further strengthened by the support of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) such as Persatuan Orang-Orang Cacat Penglihatan Islam Malaysia (PERTIS), which advocates for the visually impaired community and champions initiatives like the Touch Card™ to enhance financial accessibility.
Mastercard’s Touch Card™ was originally co-designed with IDEMIA, a global leader in augmented identity solutions, and has been vetted and endorsed by the Royal National Institute of Blind People (RNIB) in the UK and VISIONS/Services for the Blind and Visually Impaired in the US.
