About CODE
Access to banking and financial services is crucial for promoting autonomy, citizenship, and socioeconomic participation while ensuring dignity and privacy. While financial inclusion is even more critical for people with disabilities, many face barriers to accessing financial services.
The CODE course, delivered through an accessible e-learning platform and supported by an inclusive finance management app, aims to address these barriers. It seeks to improve access to financial services for people with disabilities, empowering them and supporting their journey towards financial independence.
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Project Objectives
CODE’s general objective is to foster socio-economic inclusion of people with disabilities, by granting them access to financial services. Through the tools and material developed, they will be allowed to understand products’ information and the advice they receive from financial institutions. Specific objectives are to:
– Increase people with disabilities’ financial literacy
– Improve their ability to manage their finances
– Enhance the independent lives of people with disabilities
– Increase accessibility of financial services
– Increase accessibility of the workplace
– Improve inclusive training course offer
– Support the use of UDL approach for VET training courses
– Increase inclusion of people with disabilities in SMEs
More in detail:
– in WP2, Training Course and Digital Tools, the learning material created, together with the platform, will be evaluated by relevant stakeholders from VET centers, SMEs and Banks through specific questionnaires.
– in WP3, Piloting of the Course, thanks to the piloting carried out by professionals, the direct target group will test both the material and the platform and suggest possible adjustments. The partnership will try to involve individuals with different kinds of disabilities to ensure that the material is accessible for everyone.
– In WP4, Guidelines for Accessibility and LTTA, during the LTTA all relevant stakeholders will be involved to evaluate the guidelines and suggest possible adjustments.
INNOVATION
The CODE project introduces an innovative approach to financial services through the application of Universal Design (UDL) principles. This methodology focuses on creating accessible environments and materials that cater to a diverse range of abilities and preferences. By applying UDL, CODE aims to make financial services—such as banking, insurance, and business tools—accessible to people with various disabilities and sensory needs, ensuring effective communication and usability regardless of individual differences.
The project will leverage a collaborative partnership involving disability support networks, vocational education and training (VET) providers, financial institutions, and Chambers of Commerce, along with a network of SMEs. This collaboration aims to develop tools that enhance access to online services and support personal finance management for individuals with disabilities. The UDL approach will be used to design these tools in a way that removes learning barriers and accommodates different learning preferences.

TARGET GROUPS
The target group that will gain direct benefit from the project are people with disabilities. Adjusting the financial services and products to the needs of persons with disabilities is a fundamental step to give them the opportunity to gain more independence in their everyday life.
People with disabilities themselves have indicated the need for more in-depth, interactive, up-to-date knowledge of financial services. This need emerged in daily activities within disability support networks and VET centers. Thus, some organisations were already investigating this topic, exchanging ideas and best practices. For this reason, the didactical material is targeted to their need for financial inclusion.
Disability support organizations networks will benefit from new materials and tools designed to enhance their services and training. These resources will help them develop new skills, improve their daily operations, and offer innovative support tools. Additionally, they will gain access to a pioneering course that can be integrated into their services and training programs, further advancing their capabilities and professional growth.
VET Trainers and providers can benefit from the innovative and inclusive educational material and the outreaching training methods to extend their potential on creating training in the field of financial education for people with disabilities. VET centers will be provided with a pioneering course to be implemented in their daily services and training offers.
Banks and several financial institutions will be benefited from the guidelines for the accessibility of financial services, as they will allow them to design and deliver accessible financial services and products and therefore to broaden the audience for financial services. Moreover, banks and financial institutions’ managers and employees will have the chance to acquire new skills for delivering more accessible financial services.
SMEs and Chambers of Commerce will benefit from the guidelines for accessibility of the workplace and will get to know best practices in this sector. SMEs representatives highlighted that there is no uniform policy for including people with disabilities in the work environment. Managers often are not aware of the means to include them in the workplace. Chambers of Commerce, as representatives of SMEs in different countries, could play a relevant role in sharing common guidelines.
Policymakers can benefit from the educational programme as a best practice in the field of financial inclusion for people with disabilities.
