ID scanners are an effective tool to help businesses that sell age-restricted products (such as alcohol and tobacco) avoid inadvertently violating local, state, or federal laws.
In the case of convenience stores and bars, age verification is an essential task, and if an employee sells cigarettes or alcohol to a minor, the owner is punished. If an underage alcohol buyer causes a car accident (even if they were not driving while impaired), the penalties can be much harsher. The same applies if the clerk asks for an ID and is tricked by a forged ID.
For this reason, businesses that have to deal with age verification laws are increasingly investing in ID scanners.
Businesses requiring age verification
Many businesses need to age verification of their customers. All businesses that sell cigarettes or alcohol (retail stores), nightclubs, and casinos that serve alcohol to patrons are required to verify ID, as are restaurants with alcohol licenses and now marijuana dispensaries.
ID verification is not enough, as many people try to make purchases with fake IDs and are often successful.
The boom of fake IDs
The legal drinking age was raised from 18 to 21, and college students who wanted to drink started cutting and pasting their ID cards. This ID was easy to find and most bartenders and liquor vendors refused to provide it.
In, as printing technology improved and became more accessible, it was easier than ever for teenagers to acquire counterfeit IDs, and the IDs themselves were of such a high quality that bartenders, liquor stores, and grocery store clerks could easily steal them. . .
Clerks and bartenders have used ID scanners to verify age. The ID scanner checks the magnetic strip on the back of every ID to make sure it’s valid. Until recently, the cost of ID scanners was prohibitive, but as technology improves, prices come down depending on the model a business decides to invest in.
age verification
An ID scanner is a good investment for any business that needs to perform age verification on a percentage of its customers.
Businesses that skimpily assign age-verification responsibility only to busy and sometimes overworked clerks who can calculate age based on the tiny letters on a driver’s license or state ID (or anything that looks like a driver’s license or state ID) risk fines. there is. or harsher punishment.
ID Scanner pays back your investment
Modern ID scanners do a lot more than verify that your ID is valid. For example, if a club uses an ID scanner on all patrons, it can identify patrons who are prohibited for reasons other than age (e.g. persistent rowdy behavior).
Considering the stakes involved, investing in an ID scanner makes economic sense.