Press release

Banking industry pilots age verification for smartphones and smartwatches

Frankfurt am Main, July 11, 2023: the Germany Banking Industry Committee girocard the Germany Banking Industry Committee forward the technical development girocard and is now introducing age verification in a pilot project for smartphones and smartwatches. This expands its debit payment system and marks the start of the future-oriented girocard 4.0 project. The new function will make it possible to verify the age of customers purchasing products that require a minimum age directly during the payment process using the digital girocard. girocard retail sector girocard customers and retail sector alike new payment convenience and smooth processes – which is advantageous, for example, at vending machines and unattended checkouts.

Unlike the previous girocard age verification process, the new procedure girocard carried out online and is therefore also suitable for the digital girocard in smartphones and smartwatches. This online version is now being piloted by EURO Kartensysteme GmbH (EKS) in cooperation with the Federal Association of German Tobacco Wholesalers and Vending Machine Operators (BDTA).

The pilot project started on June 26, 2023, initially at 180 high-traffic cigarette vending machines in southern and western Germany. The first transactions have already been successfully approved with digital girocards. Over the course of the year, those involved in the project expect a significant increase in the number of participating acceptance points. The BDTA members participating in the pilot program operate around two-thirds of all cigarette vending machines in Germany. "For our members, age verification with the digital girocard is a decisive step and an important signal from banks and Sparkassen girocard. It brings the convenience of cashless payment and youth protection, which vending machine operators and customers card with the classic card , to the future media of smartphones and smartwatches," says Claus Obholzer, Managing Director at BDTA. "We are delighted to have the opportunity to actively shape this development."

As part of the pilot at cigarette vending machines, an age check is carried out to ensure that the customer is of legal age. In addition, it is technically possible to check whether the customer has reached the age of 16 when paying in the girocard system. The check for both age groups - 16 and 18 years - makes age verification in the girocard system particularly interesting for innovative shopping concepts, e.g. for self-service checkouts in traditional retail stores and micro markets open around the clock without checkout staff. "Age verification directly during payment is already an important pillar in making the sale of age-restricted products secure. Its importance will continue to grow in the future as sales concepts continue to change," says Peter Blasche, Director Product Management girocard at EURO Kartensysteme.

Cardholders are already equipped for the pilot: The physical and digital girocards issued are technically prepared for online age verification. Customers whose girocard does not yet support online age verification can also make purchases as usual at the machines participating in the pilot project. Age verification will continue to be carried out offline for them. Once the pilot has been successfully completed and evaluated, online age verification will go live.

You can find more information about the pilot project in this video.