09 May, 2006
category: Government
Want a Heineken? Think again if you’re under age. The brewery said it is now using Intelli-Check-equipped mobile devices to scan driver’s licenses, military IDs and state-issued identification cards to determine if the person is of age. The new system is being used at events in which Heineken participates.
Company Continues Its Leadership Position in Preventing Underage Drinking and Access by Utilizing Innovative Technology from Intelli-Check
WHITE PLAINS, N.Y– Heineken USA and Intelli-Check, Inc. have announced an agreement under which Heineken USA has purchased Intelli-Check’s ID-Check Mobile devices for use at a number of Heineken-sponsored events this year. This announcement further underscores Heineken’s continued commitment to the responsible sale, marketing and consumption of its products, and the leadership position the Company has taken to reduce underage drinking and access to alcohollic beverages. Heineken USA first used the enhanced Intelli-Check technology at a number of cinco de mayo- related events and activities for the Heineken USA portfolio of brands.
“Heineken USA has implemented a number of unique programs to continue to attack the illegal use of our products by those underage,” said Dan Tearno, Vice President, Corporate Relations for Heineken USA. “As an alcohol beverage company we believe it is our responsibility to be a part of the solution to the all too prevalent problem of underage drinking, and partnerships like this one with Intelli-Check demonstrate that technology can play a vital role. We have worked with Intelli-Check in the past and have found their technologies to be state-of-the-art. The upgrade to hand-held electronic devices will make it easier for us to ensure that anyone drinking at these Heineken-sponsored events is of legal drinking age.”
The ID-Check software application enables the user to read, verify, parse and display the data encoded on documents such as government issued driver licenses, identification cards and military IDs. The application operates on a PDA with a built in barcode reader and clip on magnetic stripe reader running Windows Mobile 2003, which makes it compact in size and completely mobile.
Todd Liebman, Senior Vice President of Marketing and Operations for Intelli-Check, stated, “We share Heineken USA’s view that underage access to age-restricted products remains a major societal problem. That is why Intelli-Check continues to upgrade our technologies to help concerned companies better fight the problem of underage drinking. Our software allows the user to view critical details on documents that will affirmatively identify whether a patron is of legal drinking age. We applaud Heineken USA for their continued leadership role in promoting responsible behavior related to alcohol consumption and encourage other alcohol beverage companies to proactively tackle underage access and drinking at their events.”
Heineken USA has implemented a number of innovative programs and partnerships in the area of underage drinking prevention, and where possible, has collaborated with its distributors and retailers on such programs. In July 2005, the Company announced that it would utilize the AgeBand Electronic Age/ID Verification Wristband System at a number of Heineken-sponsored events, making it the first alcohol beverage company to use AgeBand technology at a series of concert events.
The Company utilized AgeBand to restrict underage access at its first Amsterjam concert, which boasted more than 30,000 attendees, and to restrict underage consumption at Street Scene, a 100,000 plus-attended music festival in California. Further, Heineken USA continues to expand its Operation Teen Proof program, which utilizes Security Laminate Verifiers (SLV) to reveal the laminate security feature, which gives licensed alcohol establishments the ability to identify the authenticity of any New York State Driver’s License issued after April 1997. Launched in 2002 in conjunction with then Westchester County District Attorney Jeanine Pirro, Operation Teen Proof has since expanded to more than 10 counties across New York State.
Heineken USA is also a founding member of the Health Alliance on Alcohol (HAA), a national education initiative designed to attack the problem of underage consumption of alcohol through effective parent-child communications. The HAA is comprised of the New York-Presbyterian Healthcare System, Morgan Stanley Children’s Hospital of New York-Presbyterian and White Plains Hospital Center and is funded by a three-year, $600,000 grant from Heineken USA.
About Heineken USA
Heineken USA Inc., the nation’s largest beer importer, is a subsidiary of Heineken International (Netherlands), which is the world’s most international brewer. The Company and its affiliates are firmly committed to promoting responsible consumption of beverage alcohol. Among other distinctions, Heineken was the first brewer in the world to place a responsibility message on all of its bottles and cans. Heineken was also the first alcohol company to place a responsibility message on all of its television, radio and print advertising. Please visit www.EnjoyHeinekenResponsibly.com.
About Intelli-Check, Inc.
Intelli-Check, Inc. is the acknowledged leader in technology that helps assure the authenticity of driver licenses, state issued non-driver and military identification cards used as proof of identity. Our patented ID-CHECK technology instantly reads, analyzes, and verifies the encoded data in magnetic stripes and barcodes on government-issue IDs from approximately 60 jurisdictions in the U.S. and Canada to determine if the content and format is valid. For more information, please visit www.intellicheck.com.
