Coors Field, home of the Colorado Rockies Major League Baseball (MLB) team, has become the first sports venue to use a new version of Amazon’s palm biometric payments solution that removes the need for bar staff to manually check whether a customer purchasing alcohol is over 21.

The new feature means that customers who have pre-enrolled with the service can verify their eligibility to purchase alcohol at the stadium’s SandLot Brewery and Silver Bullet Bar outlets by simply holding their palm over an Amazon One device. 

Once their age has been verified, they can then use the same palm biometric device to pay for their drinks.

“Customers already enrolled in Amazon One can take advantage of the age verification feature by visiting one.amazon.com and uploading a photo of the front and back of their government-issued ID, such as their driver’s license, and a selfie,” Amazon explains.

“Once signed up for age verification, customers will no longer need to produce an ID when purchasing alcoholic beverages at participating outlets.

“Customers not yet enrolled in Amazon One can pre-enroll online or at the enrollment kiosks wherever Amazon One is available.”

“When an enrolled customer who is of age hovers their palm over an Amazon One device, the bartender will see a “21+” message along with the customer-uploaded selfie on the screen,” Amazon adds.

“The bartender will do a quick visual match of the photo on their screen with the customer in front of them, and then proceed with the sale. When the customer is ready to pay, they simply hover their palm over the Amazon One device again, and they will be charged for their purchase.”

Friction

“Verifying a customer’s age for every alcohol purchase is a known friction point for retailers, bars, and breweries,” Amazon says. “It leads to longer transaction times and puts a strain on employee productivity. Amazon One’s age verification capability addresses these challenges and alleviates the burden — and time — of manual ID verification.”

“At Coors Field, we have always prided ourselves in putting customer experience first,” John McKay, senior director of food service operations and development for the Colorado Rockies, says.

“As the first sports stadium to enable cutting-edge palm recognition technology like Amazon One for age verification, we are enabling a friction-free experience for Colorado Rockies fans so they can grab a drink and get back to the game faster.”

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