Scandit Debuts Biometric Age Verification for Self-Checkout

The system eliminates the need for additional kiosk hardware by turning a customer’s smartphone into a verification tool. When a shopper scans a restricted item like alcohol or tobacco, a QR code appears on the display. Scanning this with a mobile device triggers a browser-based flow where the user takes a selfie. Vision AI estimates the user's age; if the result meets the retailer's threshold, the transaction proceeds automatically. If further verification is required, the customer scans their ID, which the software compares against the selfie to prevent the use of fraudulent documents.

Christian Floerkemeier, CTO and co-founder of Scandit, claims the technology resolves 80% of age checks without staff assistance, effectively removing the trade-off between labor costs and proprietary hardware investment. The company emphasizes that the process is privacy-focused, utilizing 100% on-device processing to ensure no biometric or ID data is stored or transmitted. The solution complies with international standards including GDPR and ISO/IEC 27566-1, aiming to boost transaction volume by 5% while freeing store associates to handle higher-value tasks.