PRINCETON JUNCTION, N.J. — The Secure Technology Alliance has launched an initiative to promote and accelerate the adoption of state-issued mobile driver’s licenses (MDLs) for age verification in convenience stores and other retail settings.
MDLs store a digital version of a physical driver’s license or non-driver ID card on a mobile device for use as a form of official government-issued identity in online and in-person environments. The organization is built on the idea that MDLs can provide a mobile ID that can authenticate identities to a variety of relying parties.
“The MDL market is developing rapidly—more than a dozen states are in varying stages of implementation,” said Randy Vanderhoof, executive director of the Secure Technology Alliance. “There is an urgent need for businesses and services providers—from retailers and financial institutions to healthcare providers and other organizations—who rely on customers having trusted forms of identification to become educated on MDLs and evaluate how they could benefit from a strongly vetted, standards-based mobile ID.
“The Secure Technology Alliance has participation from the essential solutions providers and end users in this space and a proven track record for supporting the successful implementation of secure technologies, including EMV and NFC-enabled mobile payments,” Vanderhoof continued. “This is what makes it the right forum to facilitate cross-industry discussion on the use of MDLs in a secure and privacy-enhancing way for identity verification along with information such as age eligibility, residency and other personal attributes.”
Based in Princeton Junction, N.J., the Secure Technology Alliance brings together providers and adopters of end-to-end security products. The alliance’s mission is to stimulate understanding, adoption and widespread application of connected digital solutions based on secure chip and other technologies and systems needed to protect data, enable secure authentication and facilitate commerce.
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