Kathryn Townsend

About Me

Kathryn has been leading the advancement of accessibility in business for more than a decade. In addition to her day job, Kathryn is the Government’s Disability & Access Ambassador for the banking sector. This is a voluntary role, tasked with driving the advancement of accessibility across the banking industry. One of Kathryn’s key priorities as Ambassador has been to help tackle barriers faced by deaf and hard of hearing people, in accessing and understanding financial services. Prior to joining Nationwide, Kathryn led the disability and vulnerability programme at Barclays, she championed a number of initiatives to support deaf customers including the launch of instant video relay services into telephony and in-branch and a lip speaker service. Kathryn has spoken to global audiences as an ambassador for financial inclusion and accessibility, including at the UN in Vienna. Kathryn is a trustee of Euan’s Guide; the disabled access charity.