‘Yes, I’m 18’ checkbox makes way for official identification

Soon, you won’t be able to check out a bottle of wine or spirits online without official age verification. As of July 1, new legislation applies to online alcohol and tobacco sales. A ‘yes, I’m 18’ checkbox no longer counts as age verification. Online stores need an identification tool for this.

Currence, known for iDEAL among other things, is responding with iDIN, an identification method that runs through the customer’s own online banking environment. iDIN is available through Buckaroo as a standalone solution, or integrated into one of the popular e-commerce payment plugins.

Buying alcohol or tobacco, but not 18 yet? Then the shopping cart can’t be checked out. At least, that is the intention under the new regulations. Payment specialist Buckaroo includes this verification step, which comes before the payment process, in its range of services. Although identification with iDIN takes place in the online banking environment, iDIN is not a payment method. Payment only happens after identification. In fact, it is set up so that the payment methods only appear once the age has been approved.

Rens Gerritsen, plugin manager at Buckaroo: “Many online stores use a payment plugin. So for us, there was no question that iDIN would also be added to the payment plugins.” iDIN is currently included in the payment plugins Buckaroo developed for Magento, WooCommerce, Lightspeed and Prestashop. Preliminary research showed that most online alcohol and tobacco stores run on the e-commerce software of these providers. “That’s what the initial choice was based on,” Gerritsen explains. “We wanted to be able to help our own merchants right away.” If preferred, the identification tool is also available separately from the plugins. Online stores with a custom-built checkout can then implement iDIN using an SDK (Software Development Kit), just as is possible with payment methods.

To avoid creating unnecessary obstacles in the checkout process, the plugins let you link identification to a product or product group. Say you run an online liquor store that also sells soft drinks, and a website visitor adds only these non-alcoholic products to the shopping cart: then age verification isn’t needed. Gerritsen: “Setting exceptions to age verification is a unique feature. We’re pleased we can offer this feature to our merchants. They can set up iDIN themselves per product or product group.”

The legislation on online alcohol and tobacco sales has accelerated the adoption of online identification tools such as iDIN. According to Gerritsen, it is inevitable that identification will also become a standard part of the checkout or sign-up process in other industries. A customer’s identity is difficult to verify online, but for some businesses it matters. Think of ticketing, insurers, subscription services, telecom providers and more. Gerritsen: “Ultimately, iDIN can be used for more purposes than just age verification.”

Buckaroo is certified to add iDIN directly to an existing or new checkout process. Want more information? Go to the iDIN page.