London, UK – 25th June – The three Digital ID Connect apps – Yoti ID, Post Office EasyID and Lloyds Bank Smart ID – are now accredited by the UK’s national Proof of Age Standards Scheme (PASS). This gives UK businesses selling age-restricted goods and services more trust in Digital IDs, having confidence they are genuine and that customers have been verified to a high standard. Each of the Digital ID apps includes the approved PASS hologram.
Yoti ID, Post Office EasyID and Lloyds Bank Smart ID are now recognised by the UK government for both proof of identity and proof of age. In the UK, the three Digital IDs can be used for:
- Buying all age-restricted goods including energy drinks, vapes, tobacco, lottery tickets, games, fireworks, medicine and alcohol online (but not in licensed premises)
- Accessing age-related travel discounts on trains and buses
- Watching age-restricted films at cinemas
- Entering 18+ gaming or gambling premises
- Accessing tattoo and beauty salons
- Proving identity for right to work, right to rent and criminal record checks
Digital IDs are a more convenient way for young people to prove their age from their phone, removing the need to carry around or show physical documents. When a customer presents their Digital ID with the PASS hologram, they can just show the necessary information to a business, such as their photo and a proof of age (16+, 18+). This gives people greater protection against the risk of identity theft and more privacy over their personal data.
The PASS accreditation is only issued to companies who have completed a strict application and evaluation process. This gives businesses confidence that the Digital IDs from Yoti, Post Office and Lloyds Bank are secure and genuine, with all details verified to a high standard. This helps retailers to adhere to the Challenge 25 policy and protect minors from accessing age-restricted products and services.
With the quality and availability of fake IDs increasing, including those created using AI, Digital IDs can also reduce the pressure and challenge on staff to accurately assess the age of customers. The British Retail Consortium (BRC) recently highlighted a 50% increase in abuse towards retail workers. Asking customers to show ID for age verification is one of the most common triggers for abuse. Yoti, Post Office and Lloyds Bank are confident their Digital IDs will support retailers and help make stores a safer place to work and shop.
Robin Tombs, CEO of Yoti said, “More UK businesses can now accept our Digital IDs to reduce the risk of fake IDs, increase compliance and improve the customer experience. In the UK, over four million people have already downloaded a Digital ID app. This is a strong sign that people are ready to embrace reusable Digital IDs and want a more secure, private and convenient way to prove who they are. We’re delighted that our Digital IDs are now government certified for both proof of identity and proof of age.”
The Digital ID Connect apps (Yoti ID, Post Office EasyID and Lloyds Bank Smart ID) are also government certified for right to work, right to rent and criminal record checks. The three apps make up Digital ID Connect, the UK’s leading Digital ID network with over four million downloads in the UK.
Notes to editors
- Under the Mandatory Licensing Conditions, digital proof of age is not currently accepted for purchasing alcohol in licensed premises. The Home Office is consulting on whether to allow age verification technology to be used for the sale of alcohol. Once amended, Digital IDs which are PASS approved will be a valid proof of age for buying alcohol in over 200,000 licensed premises.
- The British Retail Consortium (BRC) proposes that the government permits the use of digital age verification for age checks for alcohol. See their latest report here.
- In the UK, businesses can choose to accept Digital IDs for proof of age.
- In April 2022, Yoti and Post Office became the first Identity Service Provider (IDSP) to be certified under the Digital Identity and Attributes Trust Framework, to complete online right to work, right to rent and DBS (Disclosure and Barring Service) checks. Lloyds Bank Smart ID is also certified for right to work, right to rent and DBS identity checks.
About Yoti
Yoti is a digital identity technology company that makes it safer for people to prove who they are, verifying identities and trusted credentials online and in person. They now provide verification solutions across the globe, spanning identity verification, age assurance, document eSigning, access management, and authentication. Yoti provides a comprehensive set of age assurance solutions to meet business, market and regulatory requirements. Yoti is the leading global provider of age assurance, having performed over 650 million checks using its facial age estimation service across gaming, gambling, retail, dating, social media, live streaming, e-commerce and adult content services. Yoti is certified to ISO/IEC 27001:2013 for ID Verification Services, ISAE 3000 (SOC 2) Type 2 certified for its technical and organisational security processes. For more information, please visit www.yoti.com.
