Accessibility Act 2025 is Coming Soon — 5 Things You Absolutely Need to Know

Summer 2025 will bring significant changes to the lives of companies offering products and services in the European Union market: from June 28th, member states must apply the regulations of the European Accessibility Act (EAA). We have summarized the most important things to know in 5 points.

1. What is this law?
2. What does it prescribe, how can it be complied with?
3. What happens if I don't comply?
4. Beyond avoiding penalties, are there any benefits to paying attention to this?
5. There's not much time left, what can I do?

What is this law?

The European Directive 2019/882 on accessibility requirements for products and services was adopted in 2019, but member states (after incorporating it into law) only have to apply it from June 28, 2025. Its fundamental aim is to harmonize accessibility requirements for products and services in the EU digital market, on the one hand so that everyone can use them regardless of their abilities, but facilitating cross-border trade and mobility is also an important consideration. The law can be said to cover the entire digital market, including, for example, computer hardware and software, consumer banking services, e-commerce services, payment terminals, websites, mobile services, all kinds of electronic communication services, and so on. The directive sets out specific requirements that companies must meet by the June deadline.

In the Directive persons with disabilities have been defined based upon the UN Convention (UN CRPD), ratified also by the EU and all its Member States. As per the document, persons with disabilities are defined as those persons having long-term impairment of a physical, mental, intellectual or sensory nature that hinders his or her full and effective participation in society on an equal basis with others.

Of vital importance is that the directive will apply to all businesses providing services within the EU, even if they don't operate within it.

What are these requirements?

Let's see a concrete example, in the field of consumer banking services, what companies need to provide. User interfaces, i.e. websites, mobile applications must be designed in such a way that they can be used by people with disabilities.

• For example, one of the directives will be that users should be able to navigate and interact with all elements of the interface using a keyboard only.
• The interface will also have to work properly with screen reader applications, allowing the visually impaired to access both information and features.
• All messages or descriptions should use clear, concise and easy-to-understand language, avoiding complex terminology and jargon that might be difficult for some users to understand.
• The methods for identification, electronic signature and security measures should accordingly be accessible. This means that there should be alternative options available for those who may not use options that require fingerprint or facial recognition technology.
• Payments should always be accessible, whether through the payment terminals or online payment systems (e.g., tactile and audible feedback from the payment terminals for blind persons).
• Online payment systems should also offer voice command options.
• The content must be presented in a font and font size that is legible under foreseeable conditions of use, provides adequate contrast and allows for spacing between letters, lines and paragraphs.
• For the content, it shall be made available in a text format from which alternative, auxiliary formats can be generated that can be presented in different ways and through multiple sensory channels.
• Access to service information must also be available in an accessible form, that is made available through multi-sensory channels, having alternative forms made available upon request (e.g. large print, Braille or audio recording).

What happens if I don't comply?

In the event of an infringement of the EAA, the specific sanctions in the Member States may vary from country to country, but in general, mainly fines can be expected, which will obviously vary depending on the severity of the case, the size of the company and the repetition of the infringement, but in certain cases may even reach EUR 100,000. It may happen that if a product does not meet the requirements, the authorities may withdraw it from circulation, which perhaps does not need to be explained, how much financial damage it can cause to the manufacturer.

In the case of services - including banking services - the authorities may suspend the provision of the service, although this will probably only happen as a last resort, since the purpose of the sanctions is not to kill the services, but to enforce the law, and thus create an accessible environment. In the first round, it is therefore more likely that - in addition to a possible fine - companies will be obliged to eliminate the infringement and make the products or services accessible.

In addition, the impact on the reputation of companies if they do not plan the needs of people with disabilities into their products and services is also a non-negligible factor. (But it is important to note here that the Directive takes into account the situation of small and medium-sized enterprises and prescribes lighter rules for them. It even allows for exceptions in cases where this would impose a 'disproportionate burden' or require significant changes to products or services.) The basic principle leaves some room for manoeuvre for others: products and services already in existence before the June 2025 deadline will be given a further 5-year grace period until June 2030 to fully comply with the EAA.

Why is it worth - beyond avoiding penalties - dealing with accessibility?

We have already mentioned the impact on the company's reputation, but the economic impact is not negligible either. The WHO estimates that 135 million people in the EU have a disability. Although it is difficult to estimate how large a market segment they represent, there are studies that give us an idea of its size. The Valuable 500 international organization estimates that the purchasing power of the disability community is $8 trillion annually, and $13 trillion globally with friends and family.

According to the UK "Purple Pound" survey, the collective purchasing power of people with disabilities and their households is £274 billion annually, of which online shopping is around £24.8 billion annually.

Inaccessible or poorly accessible services cause billions in losses: according to the UK "Click-Away Pound" survey, roughly 70% of people with disabilities click away from hard-to-use sites, and even more interestingly: 75% of them find accessibility more important than price. 83% of them only shop on accessible sites, and 86% said they would be willing to spend more if they encountered fewer difficulties.

The surveys and data clearly show that accessibility alone can lead to significant revenue growth, but from a design point of view it is also worth mentioning that the accessibility aspect itself can contribute to better, easier-to-use products for non-disabled users as well. (This is the so-called "curb cut effect", which gets its name from the small ramps built into sidewalks, which were originally designed for wheelchair users, but are also useful for many other people.) So if we think about accessibility from the very beginning, we simply get better products. Examples of this are keyboard navigation, which is equally useful for power users who prefer keyboard shortcuts, or subtitles for movies, which are useful not only for the hearing impaired, but also for those who watch videos on their mobile phones in noisy places or even muted. The contrasting display is similar, as anyone who has tried to buy a bus ticket from a machine in bright sunlight knows.

There's not much time left, what can I do?

The first and most important thing is that it is worth carrying out an accessibility audit by the June 2025 deadline, as the authorities will first be interested in the results of this. As the law leaves some room for manoeuvre and flexibility in interpretation, it is best to review the issues and main points that apply or may apply to your product or service with experts, even in a workshop setting. Then, with knowledge of these aspects, we can determine the areas where changes and developments are needed within the meaning of the EAA.

Ergomania has been involved in accessibility efforts for more than a decade, such as the development of the Enjovom.hu (MyFuture) website for Coca-Cola Hungary, where during the preparation we collected feedback from users such as the visually impaired who use reading programs, and people with autism who are affected by contrast problems. Based on the feedback, we identified the problems and worked to make the site accessible and user-friendly for everyone.

We also had the opportunity to redesign the OTP Egészségpénztár (OTP Health Fund)  website to make information easily accessible and help users discover the services offered. The challenge was to structure the information to fit the users' mental model, ensuring they are always only one or two clicks away from their goals. One of the main criteria of the project was accessibility, which we solved by introducing a contrast mode, which when turned on changes the colors of the design elements, increasing the contrast ratio according to WCAG standards. This option improves browsing for visually impaired users, but is also useful for others in bright conditions, such as mobile devices in strong sunlight.

We worked with Percapita in the USA to create an application that, in cooperation with employers, helps people manage their everyday finances. When building such a complex system, it is essential that we meet all the criteria of WCAG 2.0. We provide our clients with continuous assurance that all designs meet these standards. We strictly evaluate font sizes, weights, colors, contrasts and other elements to maintain accessibility and brand consistency while maintaining a clear design hierarchy.

As part of a larger project, Ergomania is also involved in the development of voice control and voice-based navigation, so we reached out to blind and partially sighted people to help us with our research on voice control. Blind people around the world are playing an increasingly important role in VUI (Voice User Interface) design, and Ergomania is primarily concerned with user experience design, especially on online interfaces. (It is worth mentioning here, for example, the digital assistant of K&H Bank called Kate. Users can also communicate with her in the mobile bank by voice commands, for example to make a transfer, set a limit or request a statement. Kate will compile the order based on the request, which the user must approve. She also answers users' questions and directs them to the right place, and helps new customers with setup.)

It is clear that accessibility is really not only a legal compliance, it is also a strategic investment. For businesses, it creates an opportunity to increase market share, strengthen brand value and build a more inclusive and ethical image. The Ergomania team has more than ten years of experience in developing accessible digital solutions, with extensive experience in conducting accessibility audits and making digital products accessible. We help you meet the new requirements while creating a user-friendly and future-proof digital environment.

Request an accessibility audit from us!