Verifone has integrated its Commander Site Controller software with TruAge, a widely accepted age-verification system, to enable convenience and fuel retailers to seamlessly use TruAge’s services to verify an adult customer’s age for purchases of age-restricted products. All retailers using Verifone’s latest Commander software release are able to implement TruAge at their stores.
Verifone’s point-of-sale solutions are used by more than half of the 150,000-plus convenience store and fuel retailing industry partners. The integration to TruAge from Verifone's core software marks a pivotal moment in launching TruAge nationwide, benefiting tens of thousands of convenience stores.
The announcement was made during the NACS Show, the convenience and fuels retailing industry’s most comprehensive event. Approximately 24,000 attendees are expected at the Oct. 3-6 event held at the Georgia World Congress Center in Altanta. Both Verifone (booth #B3433) and TruAge (booth #9997) are exhibitors.
“This announcement significantly expands the potential reach of TruAge within the convenience store channel and the communities it serves across the country,” said Kyle McKeen, CEO of TruAge. “It’s truly a game changer for point-of-sale accuracy in convenience retailing and the adoption of TruAge on a broader scale. We are thrilled to partner with a global payments leader like Verifone to set a new standard for checkout safety and convenience throughout the industry.”
TruAge is an innovative, universally accepted age-verification system that makes it more accurate to verify an adult customer’s age when purchasing age-restricted products, and at the same time makes identity theft difficult. One-time-use digital tokens are used to share only the most important elements to confirm the purchaser is of legal age, which also protects the user’s privacy. Developed by NACS, the global trade association representing the convenience and fuel retailing industry, and Conexxus—its standards-setting partner—TruAge transforms the traditional carding experience at the checkout. TruAge makes its age-verification program available free to retailers, consumers and point-of-sale (POS) providers to ensure accessibility and promote the program's wide adoption.
"We are committed to supporting the convenience retailing industry in responsibly selling age-restricted items,” said James Hervey, director of product management, petroleum at Verifone. “As the leading provider of POS solutions to convenience retailers, we share TruAge’s vision of providing future-proof solutions that enhance the age-verification process across retail.”
Verifone has long supported the development of TruAge and played an active role in creating the Enhanced Age Verification Standards Working Group at Conexxus.
Verifone's support of TruAge aligns with consumer preferences. A national consumer survey conducted by NACS found that 90% of Americans support a national standard for age verification, and 78% of Americans want a universal, compulsory approach for all age-restricted purchases. More than three in four Americans (76%) also said they would support the development of an age-verification program by major retailers that sell age-restricted products. Most consumers ages 21 to 30 said they would download the TruAge app after hearing a description of what it is and how it works.
"Our industry conducts 160 million transactions daily and 54 million involve an age-restricted product of some kind,” said Henry Armour, president and CEO of NACS. “Consumers continue to tell us that state-of-the-art age verification is essential to restrict access and sales to minors. It’s even more important today as age-verification and retail continues to move digital.”
In September, the state of California announced that it selected TruAge as its age-verification for a test of mobile driver’s licenses. In just one week, more than 40,000 Californians signed up to use TruAge as part of their mobile driver’s license. They are now able to use their mobile driver’s license to purchase age-restricted products at convenience stores in California that use TruAge.
The age-verification training program We Card supports NACS in its effort to bring TruAge to market, a movement also supported by the age-verification scanner developer Minor Decliner and CDE Services Inc.—a provider of processing, point-of-sale payment equipment and support service solutions for 27,000 convenience stores, bodegas, small grocers and other retailers across the country.
TruAge is supported by many of the world's most recognized brands and over 140 retail companies representing 30,000-plus convenience store locations in the United States. “It’s clear that Verifone and these companies share in our vision to develop a future-proof solution that keeps age-restricted products out of the hands of minors,” said Armour. “TruAge empowers retailers with a convenient tool that does more of that for them and better protects them while it happens.”
To learn more about the TruAge program and opportunities to participate, visit mytruage.org or visit the TruAge booth at the NACS Show today!