Retailers in the US and UK are expected to trial an age verification vision system at checkouts for customers buying age-restricted items.
NCR, a technology firm specialising in financial transaction hardware, has integrated a camera-based age verification platform that uses facial recognition software into its self-checkout system. The US and UK retailers will trial the solution in the coming months, according to NCR.
The self-checkout’s built-in camera system, with age detection technology from Yoti, can estimate a customer’s age in seconds and flag any customers determined to be under the required age limit for a product.
This threshold is configurable by the retailer and is generally ten years above the legal limit.
The combined solution is intended to reduce the number of required employee interactions with customers at self-service checkouts, fifty per cent of which are currently attributed to verifying age, according to NCR.
‘Waiting for age approval at self-checkouts is a source of frustration for many shoppers, who just want to get home as quickly as possible,’ said Robin Tombs, CEO and co-founder Yoti, a company offering digital solutions for proving identity. ‘Our integration with NCR delivers a frictionless and innovative way for customers to prove their age in seconds. It’s a simple process that helps retailers meet the requirements of regulators worldwide. Customers will spend less time at the self-checkout, and employees can assist with other tasks, improving the overall shopping experience.’
