Automated ID Verification in Bars and Nightclubs? It Comes With Benefits for All
Automated ID verification in bars not only takes care of compliance with laws and regulations but can also provide valuable data for the business. Find out how.
The Author
As an International Sales Manager at Adaptive Recognition, I am responsible for the business development in several countries all over the world. We are market leaders in the OCR based technologies industry, and my task is to help our partners, customers find the most suitable solution for their needs in the ID reading & verification technology.
ID verification in bars is considered a necessary evil by many on both sides of the counter – bar owners, staff, and patrons alike. An automated identity verification process involving an intelligent ID scanner and reader unit takes the brunt of compliance efforts and can provide valuable demographic data about guests. Owners can use the data to create statistics and to improve their business. On the other hand, customers will enjoy waiting times reduced to a minimum and increased levels of safety thanks to tighter access control.
Benefit No.1: Compliance With Underage Drinking Prevention Laws
Facilities selling alcohol, such as bars and nightclubs, need to comply with laws and regulations concerning underage drinking and minimum age requirements. These vary from country to country, but one thing is sure: manual checking of IDs is lengthy and error-prone.
All it takes is one slip, and the owner(s) of the facility could easily find themselves in court for serving alcohol to someone who shouldn’t have been able to enter, let alone order a drink.
In the United States, where using false identification to obtain alcohol is a criminal offense, some states provide incentives to retailers who use electronic scanners. These read birthdates and other information digitally encoded on valid identification cards. Incentives may include an affirmative defense in prosecutions for sales to minors if the retailer can show that the scanner was used correctly.
Benefit No.2: A Smooth Entering Procedure for Staff and Guests Alike
Compliance in itself is a strong incentive for bar and nightclub owners to invest in an automated ID reader such as Adaptive Recognition’s state-of-the-art complex solution, Osmond.
Not only will this device check and validate IDs in a matter of milliseconds in an error-proof way, but it also spares owners the need to train staff to validate ID cards. In addition, it completely eliminates the lengthy ID verification process that may negatively impact the guest experience and, consequently, revenue.
Benefit No.3: Increased Safety Through Better Controllability
You can easily integrate Osmond into existing systems and databases. This way, bar owners can manage guest lists, receive alerts about VIPs, registered members, or banned trouble-makers, also helping the work of bouncers. As a result, everybody will feel safer—staff and customers alike.
Benefit No.4: Valuable Business Intelligence
Accelerating the guest entering procedure and keeping out unwanted people are just some of the core benefits of owning an advanced ID reader like Osmond. These devices are literal goldmines of valuable data business owners can use for various purposes.
For example, businesses could rely on the demographic data about their visitors’ nightly number, age, and sex to spot trends, improve promotional efforts, and tailor their offerings to their actual audiences—a true win-win situation.