Smart Phone iBill Device for the Visually Impaired

(The pdf for the issue in which this article appears is available for download: Bifocal, Vol. 40, Issue 6.)

What's in your wallet? For the visually impaired, that question may no longer stump them, thanks to a device that identifies the dollar amount on U.S. bills.

In case you haven't heard, a free currency reader device called the iBill® is being offered by the Bureau of Engraving and Printing (BEP), in partnership with the Library of Congress' National Library Service for the Blind and Physically Handicapped, to qualified U.S. citizens or legal residents who are blind or visually impaired.

The currency reader is a small hand-held device that identifies the bill’s denomination by voice, a pattern of tones, or vibrations for privacy and for people who are deaf. The currency reader identifies $1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50 and $100 denominations.

If you or your clients would benefit from a currency reader, download an application form on BEP’s website at www.bep.gov/uscurrencyreaderform.html or call the U.S. Currency Reader Program office toll free at (844) 815-9388 and request that an application be mailed to you.

For more information, go to: https://www.bep.gov/news/press-release/2014-07-03/bep-announces-us-currency-reader-program-blind-and-visually-impaired