Remote age verification: a rapidly growing need for Micromobility and Delivery companies

In June 2024, the tragic news of a young girl involved in a fatal accident while riding an electric scooter in Finland shocked the country. The incident sparked a heated debate regarding age verification for renting electric scooters and a public outcry for stricter regulations. 

But Finland is not the only country where talks about safer Micromobility experiences are heating up. Shared e-scooters were banned in Paris recently over safety concerns.  

Age verification for e-scooters: a recommendation from the International Transport Forum

Micromobility is exploding in popularity in urban areas worldwide. The market is set to grow at 15-20% over the next coming years driven by the convenience and eco-friendly alternatives offered by these shared e-scooters and e-bikes.  

However, this rapid adoption has resulted in several safety and regulatory challenges. Studies and incident reports have shown a higher incidence of accidents involving younger riders.  

One of the safety recommendations for Micromobility operators from The International Transport Forum- a think tank at the OECD- is to verify age to start riding. Age verification before renting is already part of the regulation in several cities. 

The state of regulations for age verification

A minimum age for riding an e-scooter currently varies widely in Europe from no minimum age to 16 years. The European Transport Safety Corporation has recently made recommendations to align the minimum age to that for a moped.

Source:  “Safer Micromobility” from the International Transport Forum   

The growing popularity of age verification

There are several reasons age verification is growing in popularity among Micromobility operators

• Better safety: Age verification prevents underaged riders from taking rides
• Compliance with local regulations: Several countries have local regulations in place around minimum age
• Insurance requirements: Insurance companies often set age requirements for coverage due to the higher risk associated with younger riders
• Availability of age verification technology: It is now possible to seamlessly verify rider age within seconds and without any manual intervention using digital identities. 

Automating age verification seamlessly within seconds

Age verification is best done as part of an Identity verification process at the time a new user is onboarded. There are two ways to verify age without manual intervention. 

1.Via trusted national eIDs.

eIDs such as the Danish MitID, Norwegian Bank ID and Finnish Trust Network present a familiar interface to the rider and do not require a rider to carry a physical ID at the time of verification. A simple login with these eIDs is the quickest way to remotely validate age and other details within seconds. These are ideal for markets such as the Nordics and Benelux where eIDs are in wide use and are well trusted by citizens. 

2.Via ID document verification solutions (eIDV)

Another alternative is for a rider to photograph his Government issued ID such as Driver's License or passport. The system checks if the ID is valid, extracts the date of birth and verifies it against trustworthy databases . Depending on the location, additional measures like taking a selfie or liveness checks might be required. These are ideal for markets like Spain and UK without eID schemes. 

Having the flexibility to use these methods depending on the market, use case and regulatory need is the key to successfully automating age verification globally. 

Signicat provides both options through its extensive suite of identity verification solutions. Signicat’s eID Hub helps verify age and identities via 35+ local eIDs – the largest in the world. For countries without eID schemes, Signicat’s ID Document verification solutions help verify government issued ID documents from 155+ countries remotely and within seconds.

Beyond Micromobility

Age verification is also seeing an increased adoption in Delivery platforms. Leading food delivery platforms are now beginning to deliver age restricted products like alcohol and tobacco and are remotely verifying the age of the recipients to prevent accidental delivery to minors. 

Gaming operators, retailers and others are also increasingly using remote age verification as a quick and convenient means of enforcing age restrictions.