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Safaricom unveils Braille watch for visually impaired M-Pesa users


Persons living with visual impairment and blindness can now independently access M-Pesa messages in braille.

This follows Safaricom’s announcement that customers who have lost their sight can now conduct financial transactions with confidentiality through the Dot Braille watch.

The watch was unveiled on Friday in a partnership between Safaricom and DOT Incorporation.

SMART GEAR

The Dot Braille watch is an innovation that is an equivalent of a smart gear that displays SMS notifications in braille hence enabling a visually impaired person to read.

The newly-unveiled Dot Braille wrist watch for visually impaired M-Pesa users. PHOTO | COURTESY
The newly-unveiled Dot Braille wrist watch for visually impaired M-Pesa users. PHOTO | COURTESY

The watch brings all the notifications from any app on a user’s smartphone directly to their wrist. Every text message received on the smartphone is instantly translated to Braille.

PRACTICAL FEATURES

Users can then read the message comfortably with the intuitive touch controls on the watch face.

It also provides direct access to all the practical features a user needs such as the alarm clock, timer, stopwatch, time and date, and who is calling without seeing it.

The device has customisable auto-scroll features for the visually impaired. Users can also directly save their M-Pesa or any other important messages to check again later.