Virgin Money has introduced a new accessibility tool to support customers around Bradford with communication challenges.

The Speak Easy cards, available at all 91 Virgin Money branches, are designed to help customers who find verbal communication difficult, whether due to disability, illness, or other factors.

The colour-coded, picture-based cards allow customers to convey common banking requests, from querying payments to requesting a letter in larger font.

Raymond Pettitt, director of customer services and operations at Virgin Money, said: “Launching Speak Easy across our branch network marks both an important step in making banking more inclusive and accessible to all, as well as our first joint customer proposition with Nationwide.

“This fantastic tool helps ensure that every customer, whether living with a disability, recovering from illness, or simply finding verbal communication challenging, can access the support they need with dignity and can communicate with our branch colleagues with confidence.”

The scheme was first launched by Nationwide.

The cards will now be available across nearly 700 branches under the Nationwide Group.

One in five people in the UK are expected to experience communication difficulties at some point in their lives.

All Virgin Money branch staff have received training to support customers using the cards.