The E-commerce industry has battled with the problem of age-restricted purchases. The problem is with the procedures of age verification. In in-store sales, the seller can verify the age by just looking at the customer. But when it comes to online sales, all e-commerce platforms need a secure and robust age verification solution. A reliable solution that can not only verify the age but the identity also.
The use of online services is more in kids. According to research, one out of three online users are under 18. Online platforms have provided numerous benefits for minors like education, communication, and entertainment. This has also opened doors for new risks like preventing kids from age-restricted content. The sale of knives, electronic devices, alcohol, and tobacco is a major concern in the e-commerce industry. Although the methods of age verification have evolved, it still has some issues with implementation and execution. Below are the different practices of age verification
This is the most obvious method of verifying online users’ age. This is also known as self-confirmation, where a user has to enter his date of birth, age or tick an age verification checkbox. When a user enters his age, the website calculates the age while in other methods the access is allowed after having the age information.
This method is easy to implement but also very easy to bypass. Minors can easily crack this age verification system because it does not demand any proof of age.
Online stores or service providers that have payment options have credit card verification options. The age is not checked directly, but it is confirmed that the user is a legitimate credit/debit cardholder. As the age is verified by credit card providers, it becomes easy to trust their age verification system. The user has to enter his debit/credit card number along with credit verification value for verification. If the provided information is verified, access is allowed.
This service lacks identity verification, there are cases where kids use their parents’ card and were allowed access to age-restricted content. This can result in chargeback claims by parents.
The verification which is done at the time of delivery by checking ID documents of the customer is called in-person verification. This covers the in-store or online purchases of age-restricted goods.
In online purchases, the age is verified while delivering the order to the customer. Some stores use third-party shipment services and trusting third parties is a risky task. This type of verification is also very irritating for customers, they can opt for those services that do not demand in-person verification.
It verifies the identity and age of the user at the same time. Online age verification is done when the user places an order or intending to access age-restricted content. The age is verified by the government-issued documents of the user. Below is the process of online age verification:
This method is the most secure and fast, eradicating all the flaws in other verification methods.
UK’s Licensing Act 2003 clearly states that age verification should be done before selling any age-restricted product. Other countries have also restricted online and in-store sellers to conduct age verification on customers. For e-commerce platforms, an online identity verification service can provide frictionless and quick customer age verification. It will give their business a good market reputation and better compliance with the regulatory landscape.
