The digital platforms are redefined especially in this situation of Covid-19 where everybody is staying at home and utilizing their time on digital sites. This accumulates access to online services and products. People in this pandemic are more interested in online shopping, playing games, doing online payments, and many more. It derives the businesses towards the verification processes as the universe is moving towards the digital world. For the prevention of scams, all online organizations adopted online age verification solutions. Many online sites introduce checkboxes of “I am above 18” or the details regarding date of birth, which helps online businesses to capture fake information. Online gaming and alcohol selling platforms can easily be assessed through this age verification compliance because they do not allow clients below the age of 18. Customers below the age of 18 can get legal penalties and heavy fines.
What Is Age Verification Online?
Age check is a process of verifying clients’ identity documents to examine if their age is within the limit or not through manual or automatic means. But manual verification is not required as it takes enough time and that is not a need of this fast world, so automated means are used to extract the errors. Therefore, age verification software is required worldwide for businesses to solve such issues.
How Online Age Verification Is Performed?
The age is verified by different processes as it is a secure and smooth process that shows results in no time and saves the effort of relevant organizations. There are some steps that have to be followed for the verification of age which are given below;
- The customer is restricted to submit his date of birth details and show his legal identity documents like ID card, passport, and driving license to the camera.
- Age verification compliance scans the document and extracts the details regarding the date of birth through OCR solutions.
- Then the date of birth details on documents are matched with the information provided by the customer.
- The successful match is done, age is verified through this process, and results are saved.
Why Is To Verify Age is Important For Businesses?
It is necessary to verify age, as it can lead to serious punishment as a fine of hundred dollars and legal actions would be taken if it is not checked properly. The only reason for this is because all goods and services are not for people of all ages. For this sellers have to be attentive while selling a product online. Some reasons are given below that why should be age verification is important;
To Access Fake Identities
It is seen that minors use the ID documents of their parents to buy the products online. If a business does not have measures to verify its identities, it can affect its credibility. Other than this, scammers use stolen identities of other people to get advantages and services. These benefits include old-age funds and pensions of people. Fraudsters use false identities to avail these services in a legal way.
Achieving Regulatory Compliance
Many financial institutions require age verification of the clients to fulfill the requirements of global regulatory frameworks. All countries have different rules and regulations such as the UK and USA consider age verification solutions compulsory for all businesses and in case of non-compliance, heavy penalties would be imposed. These age verification measures help an organization to establish its market value and reputation.
Age Restricted Products
The age-restricted products are for the protection of minors from accessing them. There are some age-restricted contents given below;
- Alcohol
- Pharmaceutical Medicines
- Cannabis and Tobacco
- Online gaming
- Online games that are not for underage people
- Digital websites for dating
- Gambling sites
- E-commerce stores
Threats Of Not Using Age Verified Mechanism
A business can face multiple risks for not having an age verification solution. Some are given below;
- The reputation of the brands become negative
- Financial threats and obligations
- Penalties and Fines
In A Nutshell
To end the whole conversation it is assumed that online age verification is mandatory for all digital businesses for the prevention of false identity from minors. Age verification online helps businesses to access the age of their clients before selling any item or providing them any services. This can save them from heavy penalties and fines.