AIB and Women's Aid: The Abusive Teller Machine by Rothco

Today, ROTHCO, part of Accenture Interactive, and Allied Irish Bank (AIB) in collaboration with Women’s Aid, launch ‘Abusive Teller Machine’. The Abusive Teller Machine is an unscripted film which will appear online across Women’s Aid website and social channels, along with AIB’s social channels.

As Ireland’s largest financial institution, AIB is actively tackling a range of issues affecting its customers. Working behind the scenes, its dedicated Group Advocacy department identified that financial abuse within relationships is a serious issue within Ireland. This led to a collaboration with Women’s Aid, dedicated to stopping domestic violence against women and children, as around 1 in 10 women over the age of 15 will suffer from 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.

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. As customers attempted to access their money the ATM's 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.