ADA compliance · Banks & Credit Unions

ADA website compliance for banks and credit unions.

Credit unions were hit by one of the first large waves of ADA website suits. Online banking, applications, and disclosures are where the risk sits.

See plans and pricing

$75

Monitor · per month

$250+

Remediate · per month

The short answer

What does ADA compliance mean for banks, credit unions, and financial advisors?

Banks and credit unions are public accommodations under ADA Title III, and their websites and online banking must be usable by people with disabilities. The benchmark is WCAG 2.1 Level AA. Credit unions saw a large wave of website accessibility suits starting in 2018, and EU-facing banking services are also covered by the European Accessibility Act.

Starting in 2018, credit unions faced a wave of ADA website suits. Many were dismissed on standing when the plaintiff wasn't eligible for membership, but courts split and some went forward.
Loan and account-opening applications are high-risk because they're long, multi-step, and time out.
Required disclosures such as rate sheets, fee schedules, and privacy notices are often PDFs and must be accessible.
The European Accessibility Act covers consumer banking services offered to EU customers.

The exposure

Why financial sites carry more weight

A failed purchase is lost revenue. A failed loan application or a disclosure a customer can't read is a fair-access problem regulators take seriously.

Online banking is usually a vendor platform, like Q2, Alkami, or Jack Henry, integrated with your marketing site. The seams between the two are where failures pile up: login, account opening, and bill pay.

Financial sites rely heavily on calculators, rate tables, and charts, which are often inaccessible by default.

The rules

Accessibility laws that apply to banks, credit unions, and financial advisors.

ADA Title III
Who it covers
Banks, credit unions, and lenders serving the public
Standard
WCAG 2.1 AA by reference
Timing
In effect now
European Accessibility Act
Who it covers
Consumer banking services offered to EU customers
Standard
EN 301 549 (WCAG 2.1 AA)
Timing
Applied from June 28, 2025
California Unruh Act
Who it covers
Institutions serving California members or customers
Standard
ADA violations are Unruh violations
Timing
$4,000 minimum per violation

Accessibility laws that apply to banks, credit unions, and financial advisors
Law or rule	Who it covers	Standard	Timing
ADA Title III	Banks, credit unions, and lenders serving the public	WCAG 2.1 AA by reference	In effect now
European Accessibility Act	Consumer banking services offered to EU customers	EN 301 549 (WCAG 2.1 AA)	Applied from June 28, 2025
California Unruh Act	Institutions serving California members or customers	ADA violations are Unruh violations	$4,000 minimum per violation

Common failures

Where financial sites fail

What we find most often on sites in this industry, and the WCAG success criterion each one fails.

Loan and account applications that time out without warning
Where it shows up
Account opening, loan apps
WCAG criterion
2.2.1 Timing Adjustable
Rate tables built with divs instead of table markup
Where it shows up
Rates, CDs, loan pages
WCAG criterion
1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Payment and loan calculators unusable by keyboard
Where it shows up
Calculators
WCAG criterion
2.1.1 Keyboard, 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value
Disclosures and fee schedules as untagged PDFs
Where it shows up
Disclosures, statements
WCAG criterion
1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Login with CAPTCHA and no accessible alternative
Where it shows up
Online banking login
WCAG criterion
1.1.1 Non-text Content, 3.3.8 Accessible Authentication (WCAG 2.2)
Asking for the same information twice in a multi-step application
Where it shows up
Applications
WCAG criterion
3.3.7 Redundant Entry (WCAG 2.2)

Common accessibility barriers on websites for banks, credit unions, and financial advisors
Barrier	Where it shows up	WCAG criterion
Loan and account applications that time out without warning	Account opening, loan apps	2.2.1 Timing Adjustable
Rate tables built with divs instead of table markup	Rates, CDs, loan pages	1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Payment and loan calculators unusable by keyboard	Calculators	2.1.1 Keyboard, 4.1.2 Name, Role, Value
Disclosures and fee schedules as untagged PDFs	Disclosures, statements	1.3.1 Info and Relationships
Login with CAPTCHA and no accessible alternative	Online banking login	1.1.1 Non-text Content, 3.3.8 Accessible Authentication (WCAG 2.2)
Asking for the same information twice in a multi-step application	Applications	3.3.7 Redundant Entry (WCAG 2.2)

What you get

What's included for banks, credit unions, and financial advisors.

On Monitor ($75/mo)

Monthly scans of the marketing site, rates, locations, and disclosures
Manual testing of login, account opening, loan applications, and calculators
Online banking vendor review with documented gaps
Disclosure PDF inventory with pass/fail

Added on Monitor + Remediate (from $250/mo)

Accessible rate tables and calculators
Application form fixes for labeling, errors, and timeouts on your side of the integration
Disclosure PDF remediation or conversion to HTML
Remediation log for examiners, auditors, and counsel

Pricing

ADA compliance pricing for banks, credit unions, and financial advisors.

No annual audit invoice, no widget license. Monthly pricing and work you can see in the report.

Monitor

$75/mo

Continuous WCAG 2.2 AA monitoring and a prioritized fix list your team can ship.

Baseline audit against WCAG 2.1 and 2.2 Level AA
Automated scans of your site every month, plus alerts when new issues ship
Manual checks of key templates: keyboard, screen reader, zoom, and forms
Prioritized recommendations with the exact WCAG success criterion and fix guidance
Monthly report showing open issues, resolved issues, and trend
Accessibility statement drafted for your site

Best for: Teams with a developer or agency who can implement fixes.

Start monitoring

Monitor + Remediate

$250/mo and up

Everything in Monitor, and we fix the issues in your code and content.

Everything in Monitor
We implement fixes in your theme, templates, CMS, and content
Alt text, captions, form labels, color contrast, focus order, and ARIA repairs
Accessible PDF and document remediation, quoted by volume
Regression checks after every fix and every major release
Documented remediation log you can hand to counsel or procurement

Best for: Businesses that want the issues fixed, not just reported.

Get a remediation quote

Monitor + Remediate starts at $250/mo. Final price depends on site size, number of unique templates, platform, and how much content (PDFs, video) needs remediation. You get a fixed monthly quote before anything starts.

How it works

Baseline, prioritize, fix, and keep it fixed.

01
Baseline
Automated crawl plus manual testing of your highest-traffic and highest-risk templates. You get a scored list of every WCAG failure we find.
02
Prioritize
Issues ranked by user impact and legal exposure: checkout, booking, forms, and navigation first. Cosmetic issues last.
03
Fix or hand off
On Monitor, your developers get fix-ready tickets. On Remediate, we ship the fixes and verify them.
04
Hold the line
Monthly scans and manual spot checks catch regressions from new pages, plugins, and releases before a plaintiff's scanner does.

Questions

Banks & Credit Unions ADA compliance FAQ.

Can a non-member sue our credit union over our website?

Several federal courts dismissed credit union website suits because the plaintiff wasn't eligible to join, so they couldn't show injury. Other courts let similar cases proceed. Standing is decided circuit by circuit, and defending a suit costs money even when you win. Fixing the site is cheaper.

Our online banking is from a vendor. What can you do about it?

We test the full member journey across your site and the vendor platform, document every failure with its WCAG criterion, and separate what you can fix from what the vendor must fix. That gives you a specific list to take to your vendor, not a general complaint.

Do marketing PDFs and disclosures really need to be accessible?

Any document a customer needs to understand your products or their rights is part of the service. Rate sheets, fee schedules, and account agreements should be accessible. Converting frequently updated documents to HTML is usually cheaper than remediating a new PDF every quarter.

Keep reading

More on ADA website compliance

Related industries

Other industries we cover.

Sources

Where these facts come from

Quorum is not a law firm, and this page is not legal advice. Deadlines and rules change. For advice on your situation, talk to an attorney.

Get a baseline for your site.

See every WCAG failure on your site, ranked by risk, before you commit to fixes.

Start with Monitor, $75/mo