PayRange Inc., the inventor and solution provider of a leading mobile payment app and hardware for automated retail, announced the launch of a new in-app age verification solution, immi, and its accompanying hardware component, BluCheck. The new device is built upon the success of the company’s BluKey mobile payment hardware.
The BluCheck device has been deployed on customers’ machines, available since fall 2022, and is now being readied for wider release.
Powered by immi (pronounced “I’m Me”), a new division of PayRange focused on age verification solutions, the BluCheck device is built by PayRange to leverage the scale of the company’s mobile payment network and existing app user base of more than 6 million users. The BluCheck device works on any MDB standard machine and has the familiar form factor of PayRange devices that vending operators have used for years. However, the immi solution includes additional features that enable age and identity verification when used with the PayRange app, including purchase quantity limits, a regulatory requirement intended to prevent over consumption and social selling.
Once a BluCheck device is installed on a vending machine and activated by the operator, a consumer simply launches the immi age verification process from within the PayRange app to make a purchase of an age-restricted item. Immi technology utilizes multi-factor authentication to verify identity and age to ensure the highest level of compliance. A simple, one-time, seamless and secure process takes a user less than a minute to complete. The consumer scans the front and back of their government issued ID, from which the technology then verifies their age and authenticates the ID, ensuring it is real. The user then takes a selfie and FaceMatch AI matches the person to the photo ID. An encrypted reusable digital ID is created allowing verified consumers to make repeat age-restricted purchases without going through the process each time.
With a BluCheck device installed, vending operators can unlock incremental revenue opportunities through the responsible sale of 21+ items, such as alcohol and tobacco products. The payment for the BluCheck transaction is handled through the PayRange app. From the consumer’s perspective, the purchase is a contactless, frictionless and secure transaction that takes only seconds to complete.
“Our vision at PayRange has always been about using technology to remove barriers to commerce and connecting consumers to everyday purchases by removing the friction in a transaction,” Stephanie Cordisco, executive vice president of PayRange, said in the announcement. “We believe that age-restricted commerce should be approached in the same way. We have digitalized age-restricted commerce, not only making it more responsible and compliant, but also unlocking new frictionless shopping experiences aligned to the evolving needs of consumers. With the addition of immi technology in our app, our growing network of highly engaged users can now purchase 21+ products in a more secure and seamless way while improving compliance and reducing underage access to restricted products.”
For machine operators, the BluCheck device is also a low cost and scalable for expanding revenue opportunities while enhancing the consumer’s experience. Unlike other technology-based solutions today that require operators to purchase either a completely new machine or substantial external add-on, the BluCheck device installs in about a minute on an existing machine. Featuring industry-leading 99.9% accuracy, the immi technology and the BluCheck device are fully integrated into the PayRange platform, allowing operators to tap into the growing user base while having confidence in the responsible sale of 21+ products.
