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Bestway stores in Yorkshire are taking part in a Home Office regulat
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estway Wholesale is partnering with Innovative Technology to pilot the convenience channel’s first use of age verification technology.
TELL ME MORE The trial is part of the Home Office and Office for Product Safety and Standards regulatory sandbox, which gives industry and retail the chance to test innovative approaches to age verification, such as digital ID.
Other participants in the regulatory sandbox are Co-op, Tesco, Asda, Aldi, and Morrisons.The Bestway/Innovative Technology trial will run across three Bestway Retail stores in Leeds: Bargain Booze in Otley, Wine Rack in Roundhay, and Tippl in Garforth.
HOW DOES THE TECHNOLOGY WORK? Innovative Technology’s ICU age verification technology is the most accurate
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independently tested system worldwide and is tailored to help retailers avoid selling alcohol and tobacco products to underage customers. While the trial will still require humans to check customers’ ages, the technology has potential use cases in retail, particularly when it comes to protecting staff from abuse. The ICU technology is non-intrusive and uses cutting-edge AI that incorporates spoof detection technology. ICU’s specially trained algorithms can detect