British digital ID firm Yoti is trialling a biometric system for ID and age verification at supermarket tills.It would enable shops to check the age of customers buying restricted products such as alcohol and knives, without human intervention.The free-to-consumer app works by pairing a selfie with an official document such as a passport. In a statement, Yoti said two UK supermarkets had won approval to try the ID system in 2018.People enrol in the app by:taking a selfie with an Android or Apple smartphoneverifying their phone numbertaking a test to prove they are who they say they areThe selfie is then linked via the app with a photo-ID document such as a driving licence or passport.Those with chips on their passports holding their ID information can scan these to add veracity to the data being held.Yoti staff also verify the documents and that the selfie and photo on the passport or licence match.When people come to use the app, the information stored with Yoti is used to verify a person's identity.Robin Tombs, co-founder and head of Yoti, said the technology could be used to confirm identities in other places such as pubs, nightclubs and on dating sites.Also, he said, it could be used to protect against ID fraud.”It's too easy for people to pretend they're someone else, or gain access to all of our personal details,” he said in a statement.
Yoti trials biometric ID at supermarket checkouts
