Remote onboarding and identity verification continue mushrooming through the phases of the pandemic and with all that convenience come key legal issues that must be quickly resolved.
Unattended retail (UR) checkouts and automated kiosks are two gleaming expressions of the digital shift, and as the product mix available from unattended retail technology becomes more exotic, tasks like accurate age verification are emerging as a new focal point in digital identity.
According to PYMNTS’ new Digital Identity Tracker® a Jumio collaboration, “These self-service machines lack human staff to verify customers’ identities and must do it themselves, especially when it comes to age-restricted items such as tobacco, alcohol or cannabis.”
To meet this growing challenge, the Tracker states, “The most promising solution relies on biometrics to verify that the correct person is using government-issued identity cards. Being able to branch out from brick-and-mortar retail could be a huge boon for [industries utilizing UR], and digital identity provides the tools to make this possible.”
Get the Tracker: The Digital Identity Tracker®
Cannabis Legalization Brings New Identity Risks
Adding to the age verification needs already extant with UR vending machines selling alcohol and age-restricted products is the relatively new arrival of cannabis to automated retailing.
The Tracker notes, “Cannabis legalization is quickly spreading across the U.S., and many entrepreneurs are looking for ways to sell marijuana without the need for a brick-and-mortar storefront. This desire can run afoul of age limits for cannabis sales, however, meaning that unattended kiosks will need some way of verifying users’ identities.”
With legal cannabis sales expected to reach to close to $42 billion by 2026 and with nearly 7,500 dispensaries are currently operating in the U.S., it’s become an identity flashpoint.
Zane Gilmer, an attorney for Stinson LLP, a law firm specializing in marijuana-related businesses, told PYMNTS that biometrics in vending and UR are closing age verification gaps.
As Gilmer said, “You basically provide your identity to the machine through facial recognition, fingerprints and then your photo ID, and it compares all those things and then knows who you are,” storing certain data to make future purchases quicker and more seamless.
On the payments front itself, he added, “There are FinTech companies that are trying to automate and digitize payments in this space outside of the credit and debit rails.”
Get the Tracker: The Digital Identity Tracker®
Smart Vending: Keeping it Legal
The Digital Identity Tracker® points to several promising tests and rollouts of age verification system that combine state-issued IDs with digital verification for more accurate readings.
Discussing the availability of alcohol vending machines in Singapore, the Tracker notes, “Local alcohol retailer Cellarbration launched the country’s first alcohol vending machines that digitally confirm a purchaser’s age. The system uses technology developed with AI firm Auresys, also based in Singapore, that verifies age by interfacing with Singpass, the country’s digital ID app. Buyers can then complete their purchases using contactless payments.”
Expect these innovations in the U.S. with cannabis especially as it gains ground — and regulatory approval — as both medical treatment and recreational substance.
This is already underway, with the Tracker stating that “Cultiva Wellness recently began operating its first CBD smart vending machine — the Wellness Pantry — in Doral, a suburb of Miami, Florida. The machine requires buyers to scan their driver’s licenses or other IDs as proof of age and then verifies their identities using facial recognition technology to confirm that the IDs match the customers.”
Get the Tracker: The Digital Identity Tracker®
We’re always on the lookout for opportunities to partner with innovators and disruptors.
Learn More