Press release
Bright outlook for ID Vista
The British government are now taking stronger measures to tackle alcohol abuse particularly amongst youngsters. As part of its strategy, there has been an increase in under aged test purchases which has resulted in more and more licensees being fined and in some cases even having their licenses suspended or revoked. Operating a ‘2 strikes and you're out' policy, the government will no longer allow venues to trade while they appeal against the decision. If the license is revoked it is likely to mean the closure and possible liquidation of the business.
In response to the problem, we undertook testing various systems in the market place and found two very basic systems, neither of which met our requirements. The available systems still required manual input and were still open to human error; they were very slow and inefficient. As Mark explains, "We then looked at a card scanning system and again we found this too slow and unreliable, more importantly we did not think that a system that stored all the data on the unit itself was secure and could potentially give access to thousands of names and addresses if stolen. We required an identification system which was secure and would work on a number of entrances or purchase points."
Unable to find a system that met their requirements they investigated the possibility of developing one themselves. They employed the services of Runtime Revolution based in Edinburgh and after 2 years of development and testing in licensed/club premises a system now exists that not only meets but exceeds the original requirements. They have developed a secure web based programme that scans over 200 forms of ID including all UK & European driving licences, passports and authorised ID cards. It features a biometric facility that can display the original ID details for a person who has previously been scanned in the absence of a physical form of ID. The reporting facility ensures that you are showing due diligence and that a policy is in place to prevent the sale of alcohol and age restricted products and to identify the under aged people attempting to purchase these products. The warning and subsequent banning operation ensures that you are doing everything possible to prevent crime and disorder.
The system is much more than just an access or purchase control system, it also incorporates a complete marketing suite which allows the licensee to carry out targeted marketing across various media from SMS and email to postal mailings. This approach potentially increases the efficiency of the venue's marketing activity as well as protecting the venue's license and ensuring that undesirable clientele are identified and excluded.
In setting up our system, we have placed special emphasis on support because we realise that licensees don't work 9 to 5 so we have a help and support programme in place which is available 24 hours a day. It's a system that we know as very experienced operators works. It's fast (3 seconds to scan and validate ID), it's reliable. "It will help protect the most valuable asset of your business, your license."
Mark comments: "We have developed a secure system where data can't be stolen or abused and have worked closely with the Information Commissioner's Office (Data Protection) to ensure that we have met all the requirements set out regarding Data Protection. We are indebted to the Director of the Information Commissioner's Office for all their assistance and we would like to thank the Gloucestershire Constabulary for all the help and advice given during the development of our system. We have also worked closely with the Manchester based design team at Creation Publicity who have helped us develop our brand and put together some great marketing material for us across various media.
ID Vista will launch in Scotland at the Scottish Licensing conference on the 3rd and 4th September.
See www.idvista.comfor more details or call Peter Bowden on 07789312582
[new]IDVista featured on BBC
A BBC report into the problems of underage drinking features IDVista as one of the solutions being used to combat the problem.
Watch the video here.