The Changing of Money

Recently a judge has ordered the U.S. Treasury Department to change the dollar bills we use. The ruling comes after arguments that money is not accessible to the blind. The problem with U.S. currency is that all denominations have the same form factor.

Blind people can not tell the difference between a $1 and a $50 because the texture, size and shape are identical. In most other countries bills of different denominations are of different sizes of have differently textured edges to help identify them by touch. Blind people have workarounds to deal with this, but if the Treasury Department applies good ergonomics they won't need them.

The Treasury Department is resistant to change, however. Not because they think the usability of the bills is all that, but because the amount the bills are used is all that. Embossing bills with a texture can wear off in a year or two. Patterned and textured edges can tear easier. And the biggest issue is size.

A huge amount of our economy revolves around the size of a dollar bill. ATMs, soda machines, change machines and any other automatic bill collector is tooled around the standard size. Wallet manufactures and others like that have a lot invested as well. That's not saying the change isn't worth it. It is just saying that there is much more to think about than just ergonomics.