person handing a bag to customer

Age Verification Systems Made Easy: The HID® and ScanID Collaboration

Retailers in the Netherlands and Belgium are simplifying age verification for restricted products through a collaboration between HID and ScanID. By implementing an advanced ID card scanning system, these businesses ensure regulatory compliance, enhance customer experience and gain peace of mind with a more secure and efficient process.

This collaboration delivers fast, accurate and compliant age verification checks, reducing legal risks and improving customer satisfaction with a streamlined, reliable system. Additionally, it sets the stage for ScanID’s expansion into other European countries where driving licenses are widely accepted as valid forms of ID.

Rising Demand for Efficient Age Verification Systems

Retailers face increasing pressure to comply with strict age verification regulations, especially for businesses like tobacco shops, gas stations, supermarkets and coffee shops. Robust systems are essential to avoid legal penalties and maintain a smooth, efficient customer experience. Several factors are contributing to this rising demand:

  • The High Usage of Driving Licenses — With over 11 million driving licenses issued in the Netherlands, including many to 16 and 17-year-olds, driving licenses remain the most used form of ID. HID’s reliable driver’s license scanners are crucial for helping retailers stay compliant with the law
  • Modern ID Challenges — Traditional swipe readers still serve a purpose, but modern IDs with RFID chips, barcodes, or Machine-Readable Zones (MRZs) are becoming more common, presenting a new challenge
  • A Need for Precise Solutions — Retailers need precise ID card scanner solutions that can determine a customer’s exact age, instead of just checking if they are “over 18” 
  • Privacy Compliance Requirements — Age verification systems must also comply with strict Dutch privacy rules, ensuring that only necessary data is used and other personal information is not read or stored

In the Netherlands, retailers regularly undergo compliance checks, including mystery shopper tests. Failing to verify ages accurately can result in significant penalties, highlighting the need for advanced verification systems.

The Risks of Non-Compliance for Retailers

Businesses can face severe penalties for not complying with age verification laws in the Netherlands, including:

  • Fines starting at €1,565 for selling age-restricted products without proper verification systems
  • License suspensions for repeated violations
  • Temporary sales bans, with grocery stores facing up to a 12-week ban for multiple offenses within a year

For tobacco and coffee shops, the risks are even more significant due to their high volume of age-restricted sales. Reliable and precise age verification systems are essential for avoiding penalties.

Powering a Superior Age Verification System

To meet compliance challenges, ScanID selected the HID ATOM™ reader for their DVSNext and Age Proof age verification systems. The ATOM reader provides tangible value to retailers by:

  • Speeding up ID verification — Reducing wait times at checkout
  • Minimizing compliance risks — Ensuring accurate ID checks
  • Offering flexibility — Adapting to both desktop setups and self-service kiosks
  • Enhancing customer experience — Providing fast, reliable age checks

The ATOM reader also excels in:

  • High accuracy — Capturing all necessary data from driving licenses, including printed images, MRZ, RFID chips and barcodes
  • Comprehensive data extraction — Outperforming half-page scanners by capturing full-page data

As Peter Steenwijk, Chief Technology Officer at ScanID, stated, “The ATOM is an exceptionally versatile ID card scanner, ideal for both desktop and built-in applications. Its all-in-one design — reading MRZ, RFID and barcodes — combined with excellent image quality, makes it a perfect match for our age verification solutions like DVSNext and Age Proof.”

Retail counter setup with age verification system displayed on monitor, ensuring compliance at checkout.

Enhancing Age Verification Accuracy

While the ATOM reader captures ID data with precision, ScanID’s bespoke software ensures accurate age verification. By analyzing data captured by the HID ID card scanner, ScanID’s advanced software calculates customers’ exact ages, ensuring compliance with local laws. An additional benefit comes from fake ID detection, boosting retailer confidence and meeting compliance standards.

Customers of ScanID appreciate the ability to present driving licenses on either side to the document reader, simplifying the age verification process. End customers also value that only the rear side of the driver’s license needs to be presented for age verification, protecting personal information and complying with strict privacy laws in the Netherlands. ScanID’s software incorporates a “smart scanning mode,” using only the necessary data for age calculation and not reading or storing other personal data.

id scanner

After scanning, the precise age of the customer is displayed on the screen along with a background color — green for “OK” or red for “under age” — providing a simple visual indication to the retailer if the sale can proceed.

A representative from a leading chain of gas stations in the Netherlands shared, “Our age verification system, provided by ScanID, has transformed our checkout process, allowing us to meet compliance standards without slowing down service or increasing the burden on our staff.”

A Modern Age Verification System for Retailers

Thanks to its ability to speed up ID scanning transactions while maintaining accuracy, the ATOM reader is the ideal choice for retailers handling age-restricted products like alcohol and tobacco. This collaboration between HID and ScanID delivers a transformative solution that enhances both customer satisfaction and operational efficiency through advanced ID card scanners.

Ready to elevate your age verification system? Request a consultation today and discover how HID ATOM can integrate seamlessly into your solution, ensuring compliance while delivering superior accuracy and efficiency.

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