Road System announced it launched a mobile passport age verification service for foreigners at CU convenience stores in November.
Road System's "mobile age verification using foreign passports" allows foreigners to verify their age through a mobile application instead of a physical passport when purchasing alcohol and tobacco products. The service received regulatory sandbox approval from the Ministry of Trade, Industry and Energy (MOTIE) last year and began operations this year. Foreigners can register their passport information on the TripPASS mobile platform and use it for age verification when purchasing alcohol and tobacco.
Road System's mobile passport can also be used for tax refunds for foreign tourists, casino entry verification for foreigners, and duty-free purchases for both domestic and foreign customers. The TripPASS passport identification and age verification service operates on blockchain-based DID (Decentralized Identity) technology, fundamentally blocking personal information leaks and forgery.
The service allows comparison between the actual user and the passport photo during identity and age verification. Facial recognition authentication prevents fraudulent use through another person's mobile device, earning the service recognition for superior security and reliability compared to physical passport verification.
"We plan to actively expand service channels requiring age verification for foreign customers, including convenience stores, duty-free shops, department stores, supermarkets, and alcohol and tobacco vending machines, through TripPASS, a tourism and financial platform primarily used by foreigners," Road System CEO Jang Yang-ho said. "Mobile age verification dramatically improves convenience for foreign tourists by eliminating the inconvenience and risk of losing physical passports. We expect this will contribute to protecting foreign youth tourists and revitalizing the domestic foreign tourism market, which is seeing an increase in MZ generation tourists."
