It’s no different than us putting Braille, or other tactile marks on a card, just saves us a step. The question is will there be an option for different notches? If every card gets notched the same way it doesn’t make it different does it?

I am able to figure out which way my card should be facing when inserting it into the ATM via the square indentation where the chip is. That definitely does help me a lot, so I wouldn't say this is a gimmick either. Besides, as u/DHamlinMusic pointed out, it means the cards no longer all look exactly alike.

But I do wonder if there will ever come a day when card manufacturers won't expect us all to have (safe) sighted help available for actually reading out the numbers from the cards, or be good at using OCR software otherwise. I suppose cards with braille might veer into the territory of gimmick for some, but I'd like them.

How about just not have cards that are entirely smooth to begin with. Knowing what end is what is not as hard as knowing what card is what or what the numbers are when they are all just ffeatureless pieces of plastic.

Barclays Bank in the UK offer a choice of 12 designs for bank cards that may help VI customers.

From their $1
> ... – four feature a bright stripe and arrow to indicate the leading edge of the card that you insert into a cash machine or chip-and-PIN reader, while eight others come in a range of high-contrast colours that make it easier to locate and read the text on your card.

> All high-visibility cards have a larger security number on the back of the card (CVV) and a notch to show which end to insert into cash machines or chip-and-PIN readers.

I know someone with a card that has a notch and the big arrow that helps them align the card. I would say these design features have proved useful.

my card with my new bank, is like this. it's completely flat, not raised numbers or anything. then on the back edge, IE the edge you don't put into the ATM or what ever, it has a kind of wide shallow dip in the edge on one side. it's super easy to feel, and dosen't impact a sighted user at all. it's awsome.

Is this only in the US? I got a master card credit card last week, they’re are imbossed numbers

I don’t think this isn’t much as a gimmick as it might have been a few years ago.
Increasingly all manner of chip cards are becoming flat rather than having race numbers. Even if you couldn’t talk truly read the numbers, the layout and different sizing of those race numbers would help to distinguish one card from another as well as orientation for insertion into chip readers.
I recently got a Discover credit card and I can’t emphasize how flat it is. As well as being flat, the design of it including having ridges on the side where the chip gois placed makes it hard to distinguish where the chip actually is.

Chips already have a indentation to them. Maybe a more prominent one 3 spaces behind the chip would help. Prefer if the indentation felt like a arrow dotted.

This would actually help me a lot. I have enough vision to tell my cards apart by color, but being able to quickly and easily know which direction is the right one without taking forever holding it an inch from my face and squinting would be awesome. I'm down for this.

Folks that have less vision than I do who need all their cards to be tactile-y different might not get much out of it, though. That's the tricky thing sometimes about accessibility - Whether something feels usable or gimmicky can be subjective depending on needs.

Not really. I use the slight difference in height where the chip is in order to line it up. I'd much rather they add Braille. A card with no chip would very much benefit from a notch, however. In fact, I use a nail file to wear down the corner on some of my cards.

This is just not as big as they’re making it out to be, sounds like sensationalism and a little bit of inspiration porn a little. We can already tell or know if you’re observant. It helps maybe a little but not as drastically as they’re making it there’s a far way to go yet. And this doesn’t really mean they’re super accessible. Some people think one thing makes their company accessible, and it’s usually the little things and the easiest.

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yeah, braille cards exist but not sure how widely available they are.

My standard UK debit card has a notch and it is quite handy. The front is also not totally smooth; which is also helpful

ABLENOW does this too. I can't say I ever use it to identify my card - my cards just all have a specific spot in my wallet and so are always in the same order. So my debit card is the 2nd one back, my insurance card is the 3rd, etc.