Royal Flush Vape are an established UK supplier for the vape community. As part of their commitment and dedication in preventing youth access to vaping and vape-related products, they have recently taken the decision to implement Innovative Technology’s (ITL) age estimation technology across their chain of stores in the North West of England. ITL provide a range of AI-powered biometric solutions, including MyCheckr, that perform age checks to help prevent underage sales, ideal for retailers selling age restricted goods such as vapes.

Speaking about the recent roll-out, Fash Ferdowsian, Director of Royal Flush Vape said, “Whilst being committed to offering a safer alternative to cigarettes, the importance of safeguarding children is paramount to us. All of our stores follow the Challenge 25 policy strictly with staff consistently trained and monitored, but we wanted to go one step further installing MyCheckr to give employees more confidence when checking age.”

MyCheckr is a standalone solution equipped with front-facing camera and screen. It turns red if the person in front of the device appears underage and need to present ID to a staff member, or green if they pass the age check.  

John Vallis, Senior Business Development Manager (Biometrics) for ITL commented, “This tool estimates a customer's age with the highest level of accuracy and all completely anonymously, without storing any images or personal data so customer privacy is assured. In fact, we were the first company in the world to receive independent GDPR certification from ACCS (The Age Check Certification Scheme) for our AI-powered biometric age estimation solution.”

Fash continued, “MyCheckr is not being used as the sole decision maker or to replace staff but rather as a tool to help aid our staff during the vital age check process.  The solution is already increasing positivity between customers and staff, whilst safeguarding both our employees and any minors entering our stores.”

Concluding John said, “Royal Flush Vape are a fantastic example of how responsible vape organisations can implement the correct safeguards using the latest technology to protect minors. We look forward to working with them and help drive the industry push to prevent youth access to vapes.”

Innovative Technology Americas successfully showed NRF’24 visitors how to revolutionize the retail space with their latest bill validation, coin hoppers and AI-Biometric solutions last week. NRF - Retail’s Big Show, organized by the National Retail Federation (NRF), the world's largest retail trade association, took place over three days at the Javits Convention Center, New York. 

Brian Bellerose, ITL Business Development Manager for North America commented, “NRF was a great show for us this year with a real buzz and constant stream of visitors at the ITL booth located in a prime location. Our NV4000 was the real star of the show with visitors impressed by its mixed denomination bill recycling capacity and fast bill processing. Retailers need to provide seamless and quick customer transactions, so the NV4000 with its large dispensing capacity meaning fewer refills makes it the ideal solution. In addition, combining the NV4000 with the new elevator for the Smart Coin System, not only can we provide a complete payment solution for both bills and coins, but we can also minimize the gap between coin input and output, improving accessibility and the overall customer experience. The Spectral BNF (Bunch Note Feeder) with its large deposit capacity was also of interest to safe manufacturers for back office operations.”

The Innovative booth also displayed the company’s biometrics solutions which can perform age checks at self-service lanes or assisted checkouts, plus display targeted digital advertising to free up valuable retail space and providing a potential advertising revenue stream.  

Brian added,“Retailers selling age-restricted goods like alcohol and tobacco were eager to learn more about our solutions to assist them with the age check process. ICU Lite is a compact device that can be easily integrated into self-checkouts for automated age estimation. A completely offline solution, it gives immediate results.Our technology also uses facial analysis to provide tailored advertising based on customer demographics plus has the ability to use facial recognition too. It was great to see so many organizations starting to use biometrics for face payments, loyalty cards etc. and we look forward to seeing this technology progress in the retail sector throughout America.”

Concluding Brian said, “The team looks forward to following up on all the positive conversations to help customers transform their retail strategy using our latest innovations.”

Innovative Technology (ITL) will be participating at the last ICE to be held in London where visitors can find them in their usual location N1-420, Hall N1, opposite the Consumer Protection Zone. This year the ITL stand will be evenly split between the traditional cash handling equipment and their biometric technology range showcasing the company’s two divisions.

Marcus Tiedt, ITL’s Sales & Marketing Director said, “The team are all set to demo our AI-powered biometric technology which provides the gaming industry with a robust tool to prevent underage gambling and safeguard vulnerable players. We know age verification will be one of the hot topics at ICE and we look forward to showing visitors how age checks will play a key role in player protection. We have been working with some major UK OEMs who have successfully integrated our ICU Lite age verification technology into their gaming cabinets which will also be available for visitors to demo on our customers’ stands. With world leading accuracy and no recurring costs per age check, our solutions make biometric technology available, practical and affordable for all.”

Traditionally known and trusted for their cash handling solutions, ITL will also have their full range of note validators, recyclers and multi-coin hoppers on the stand.

Marcus added, “Our cash handling solutions including the NV200 Spectral, Spectral Payout and NV22S are widely used within the global gaming industry and will be on display. Plus the NV4000 which debuted at ICE 2023 will again be a key focal point.  This mixed denomination multi bill recycler is ideal for change and redemption terminals, boasting larger recycling capacities, meaning fewer refills and improved machine uptime. Combining the NV4000 with the new elevator for the Smart Coin System, not only can we provide a complete payment solution for both notes and coins, but we can also minimise the gap between coin entry and exit points, improving accessibility and the overall customer experience.”

Concluding Marcus said, “2024 is set to be an exciting year for us. Our cash handling products continue to be the solutions of choice for the international gaming industry. We’ll see a number of different Manufacturers and Operators rolling out new gaming machines with our age verification technology installed, and we look forward to the response from the industry and our customers alike.”