Yoti partners with BAT, Channel Islands co-op to offer age estimation in shops

Yoti has announced a new partnership with British American Tobacco (BAT) and the island of Jersey’s largest retailer, the Channel Islands Co-Operative Society Limited, which will see facial age estimation (FAE) piloted in ten of the co-op’s stores.

A release from the firm says the age estimation system will first prompt the customer to scan a QR code with their mobile device or use an in-store device, such as a tablet. Facial age estimation is performed on a selfie; Yoti underscores that “the moment their age is estimated, the image is permanently deleted.”

“If the customer is verified as over 18, they can proceed, otherwise additional proof of age needs to be shown to staff. For the Channel Islands pilot, the age threshold is set at 20.”

BAT is the second-largest tobacco company in the world based on net sales, parent company of many of the globe’s major cigarette brands. The Jersey partnership is part of its efforts to try and prevent underage sales of its tobacco and nicotine products with biometric technology, which has already seen it deploy Yoti’s tech in more than 600 stores across Europe, including BAT-owned stores in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Croatia, with ongoing implementations in Poland, Italy and Serbia. Since August 2023, it has been using Yoti across BAT-owned vending machines in the UK.

Yoti, meanwhile, has an established relationship with the Channel Islands Co-operative Society, having introduced age verification in co-op stores in 2019. (Its relationship with Jersey goes back even further .) CEO Robin Tombs says the company is delighted to see the partnership bring BAT into the fold to enable facial age estimation.

“Our facial age estimation technology helps people to pass age checks without needing to present an ID or wait for staff assistance,” Tombs says. “It offers a faster, more secure, inclusive and privacy-preserving way for adults to prove they are of legal age to purchase age-restricted goods – while also protecting underage shoppers.”

He believes the partnership “demonstrates how the tobacco and nicotine industry can harness technology to uphold age restrictions and prevent youth access, while creating frictionless experiences for adults.”

Susanna De Iesu, commercial director for BAT, says that globally, “technology is at the forefront of BAT’s transformation and plays a crucial role in combating underage access”

“Our partnership with Yoti, an innovative, cost-effective, facial age estimation technology, demonstrates our advancement in technological innovation and provides an extra level of protection to ensure our products are sold solely to adult nicotine consumers.”