ROTHCO, part of Accenture Interactive, and Allied Irish Bank (AIB) in collaboration with Women's Aid, launch 'Abusive Teller Machine'. As Ireland's largest financial institution, AIB … read moreis actively tackling a range of issues affecting its customers. Working behind the scenes, its dedicated Group Advocacy department, established in 2018, had identified that financial abuse within relationships was a serious issue within Ireland. This led to a collaboration with Women's Aid, the nation's leading organisation dedicated to stopping domestic violence against women and children - who revealed the shocking extent of the issue (over 198,000 women or 1 in 10 women over the age of 15) - on a campaign to raise awareness and reach out to women suffering financial abuse. Having easy, convenient access to our money is something we all take for granted. But for financial abuse victims, gaining access to money can be a much more confronting and traumatic experience. To demonstrate this and increase understanding and empathy for financial abuse victims, ROTHCO created the ‘Abusive Teller Machine’ - an AIB ATM that took on the controlling behaviour of a financially abusive partner when people attempted to withdraw money from their account. “Why do you need more money?” “Are you hiding money from me?” “If you’re lying, I’ll find out.” These were just some of the questions and threats that turned a simple, everyday experience into something insidious and eye-opening. As customers attempted to access their money the questions became increasingly intrusive and intimidating, before the customer was ultimately denied their money and the reason for their experience revealed - the fact that over 198,000 women are suffering financial abuse by their partners at any given time. Customers were then directed to seek support from Women’s Aid if they, or someone they knew, were suffering.
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