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A trade group for Internet retailers in the United Kingdom has begun work on an effort that would lead to tighter age-verification measures for online purchases initiated with payment cards, an executive for the group tells CardLine Global. The Interactive Media in Retail Group, which has some 300 members, 180 of which are retailers, wants to make sure the industry has a complete picture of the age-verification technology available to retailers and to create an affordable universal age-verification standard. The association wants to protect members against unflattering press that results from underage consumers using payment cards for online purchases and perhaps pre-empt legislation that could impose age-verification rules, especially as financial authorities in the UK crack down on the payments industry, Andrew McClelland, the group's director of business development, tells CardLine Global. Such legislation could involve restricting the use of prepaid cards for online purchases, he says. Doing so could limit the online-payment options of "more than 2 million unbanked" consumers in the UK, McClelland says. The online pornography and gambling industries already have their own age-verification schemes, but other online merchants need to protect themselves from young consumers making other purchases that are age-restricted, he points out. Existing age-verification tools available to online merchants can rely on driver's licenses and passport records, but some consumers, especially those who are poor or without bank accounts, do not have such documents, says McClelland, who was unsure when the association would finish its work.
