Check who’s at your counter
Your customer shares who they are from their VU ID, made from their passport’s chip. Your staff see their name and date of birth, with a sanctions screen, on an Android phone.
Early access, on Android. Your customers need the VU app, which isn’t in app stores yet. We open business accounts a few at a time, and early access is free.
Identity confirmed
Their credential is genuine and valid.
- Name
- Maya Ellison
- Date of birth
- 14 Mar 1996
- Nationality
- Ireland
Clears in 58s.
- Face not checked: compare their face with the photo.
- Sanctions: no match on the UK, US or EU sanctions lists (lists of 19 Oct 2026), checked just now by name and date of birth.
- Checked by VU: from their passport, verified 16 Oct 2026.
What a business account adds
A guest check shows age and a photo, with no account, a few times a day. A business account shows your staff more.
Guest check ComingBusiness account Early access
| What it shows | Guest check | Business account |
|---|---|---|
| Over 18 or over 21 | Yes | Yes |
| Their passport photo, for 20 seconds | Yes | Yes |
| Who they are: name, date of birth, nationality | No | Yes |
| A sanctions screen, each time you ask who they are | No | Yes |
| A face check when you’re unsure | No | In selected countries |
| A sign-in for each member of staff | No | Yes |
| Phones tap together, or scan a code | Code only | Both (tap needs NFC) |
| Inside your own app | No | Android, where we open it to you |
| How many checks | A few each day | No daily cap on age and identity checks. Face checks: up to 100 a day while free. |
| Price | Free | Free during early access |
Free during early access.
What your staff get
Each one says how far it has got: live, in early access, or coming.
How it works
No documents to scan, copy or file: the customer’s phone does it.
Who checks what
The passport was checked once. Your staff check the person.
VU Verified checked the passport
Once, when your customer joined: the chip, the issuing government’s signature, and a live face matched to the chip’s photo. VU keeps proofs, not passport contents, and deletes face images once the check is decided.
Your staff check the person
The answer, the photo against the face in front of them, and a face check when they’re unsure. The result informs your staff; the decision stays yours.
Your customer decides
Nothing is shared until they approve on their own phone. They can always say no and show you another ID.
In the VU app, their details clear after 60 seconds and the photo after 20, with screenshots blocked. Face checks appear in your audit log: when, which member of staff, and the outcome.
For counters that need to know who’s there
For your own checks: who’s hiring, joining, checking in or collecting.
Hire desks
Bikes, boats, tools and equipment. Know who you’re handing them to.
Check-in desks
Hostels, short lets and coworking. Match the booking to the person. VU doesn’t give you a passport number, so it doesn’t replace a guest register where the law requires one.
Gyms, studios and memberships
Check a new member is who they say, before you hand over a pass.
Events
Match the name on a ticket or a staff pass to the person at the gate.
Collections and handovers
Orders and parcels, to the right person. Not for age-restricted goods.
Free during early access.
Where it stands
Early access- Checks run end to end on Android phones, tested on real phones.
- Your customers need the VU app on an Android phone, with their VU ID in it. The app isn’t in app stores yet. iPhone support is planned.
- The face check is available in selected countries: it runs only where VU has switched it on.
- VU isn’t certified under the UK digital identity and attributes trust framework, and isn’t on the government’s register of digital verification services. A VU check doesn’t meet a legal requirement such as those for alcohol sales, right to work or right to rent.
- We open business accounts a few at a time. Early access is free, and we’ll give you at least 30 days’ notice before any price applies.
Straight answers
- Do my customers need an app?
- Yes: the free VU app on an Android phone, with their VU ID in it. They verify once with their passport. The app isn’t in app stores yet, and iPhone support is planned. Customers without it show you their ID as they do now.
- What does my business see, and keep?
- Only what you ask for. “Over 18” is a yes or no, never a birthday. “Who they are” shows their name, date of birth and nationality for 60 seconds, and the photo shows for 20. Nothing is saved on your staff’s phones, and screenshots are blocked in the VU app. Your account also receives a random ID for that customer, the same each time they show you, never their name. Face checks appear in your audit log with the outcome, never an image. What you do with what you see is your responsibility under data protection law.
- Can I use it for alcohol sales, right to work or right to rent?
- No. In the UK, a digital proof of age for alcohol sales, and a digital right-to-work or right-to-rent check, must come from a service certified under the UK’s digital identity trust framework and listed on the government’s register. VU isn’t. The same goes for other age-restricted sales, such as tobacco, vapes and knives. If you sell alcohol, including at an event’s bar, a VU check doesn’t replace the ID your licence requires. Elsewhere, a VU check meets a legal rule only where that rule accepts it: ask your licensing authority.
- What if a customer says no?
- That’s their choice. Ask for another form of ID and treat it the same way. The face check is for when you’re unsure, never the only way in.
- What does “Couldn’t confirm” mean?
- That the face scan couldn’t tell, not that they’re someone else. Face matching can be less reliable for some people, so treat it as no result at all: ask for another form of ID, and decide on that.
- What do my staff need?
- An Android phone with the VU app, signed in with their own work email. With NFC, customers can tap; without it, they scan a code. The face check uses the phone’s camera.
- What does it cost?
- Checks are free during early access. We’ll give you at least 30 days’ notice before any price applies.
Bring VU to your counter
Tell us about your business. We review every application by hand, and early access is free.