Stores could soon be able to accept digital age veri­fication, rather than a physical ID, for alcohol sales, with a govern­ment consultation on the change due to close at the end of March. The consultation was launched to examine whether technology has a place in age-restricted sales of alcohol in retail and hospitality.

Last week, experts and suppliers met for a conference organised by Westminster, discuss­ing the use of digital IDs, such as smartphone apps.

Trials underway

Jonathan McDonald, partner at law firm Os­borne Clarke, confirmed the Data Protection and Digital Information Bill, when it is eventually passed, will establish a basis to enable digital ID to be used by stores with the same confidence as physical documents.

However, Clarke re­vealed the legislation would face a review every 12 months after it becomes law, raising the prospect of further changes ahead.

Government-led trials are already under­way in some Bestway-owned stores, where shoppers can use digital tools to confirm their age when purchasing restricted products, in­cluding alcohol.

Inevitable

Post Office has also ex­panded the use of digital identities across branch­es, after a tie-up with ser­vice provider Yoti.

Yoti chief executive Robin Tombs said it was “inevitable” this technol­ogy would become more popular, “as fraudsters become cleverer and peo­ple want to ensure their information is safe”.