Why Your Business Should Start Accepting Mobile IDs (mDocs)

1. Introduction

Customers expect faster, more secure digital experiences. At the same time, businesses still need to collect key information to comply with laws, reduce fraud, or serve specific customer segments. But the current ways of doing that (forms, photo uploads, manual entry) are slow, error-prone, and privacy-invasive.

Mobile IDs, also known as mobile driver's licenses (mDLs), offer a better way. These secure, digital versions of physical IDs allow individuals to share only the information you need, verified instantly and cryptographically.

For businesses that need to verify customer details like age, license status, or residency, mobile IDs create a new opportunity to reduce friction, protect user privacy, and improve trust. In this post, we'll explain what mobile IDs are, why they matter to your business, and how they're already being used in the real world.

2. What Are Mobile IDs?

Mobile IDs are government-issued digital credentials stored securely on a user's smartphone. They are not just pictures of an ID or digital scans. They are cryptographically signed, tamper-resistant, and designed to share only the information that is required for a specific transaction.

These mobile credentials follow international standards like ISO/IEC 18013-5 and 18013-7, which means they are built for interoperability and can work across different apps, services, and devices.

At their core, mobile IDs give people control over their personal data and give businesses confidence in the authenticity of the information being shared.

3. Why Businesses Should Care

Most businesses already need to verify some form of customer information. Whether it's for regulatory reasons, fraud prevention, or simple customer segmentation, this is a common part of modern digital operations.

What mobile IDs do is transform this process. Instead of requiring users to upload photos of their driver's license or fill out lengthy forms, businesses can now request specific, verified pieces of information in seconds, with user consent.

This improves:

Fraud prevention, by reducing fake IDs and spoofed information
Efficiency, by eliminating manual review and data entry
Privacy compliance, by collecting only what's necessary
Customer experience, by making verification faster and smoother

4. Key Use Cases for Businesses

Mobile IDs are relevant in many industries and scenarios. Here are some practical examples where they provide immediate value:

A. Age Verification (Retail, Hospitality, Online Platforms)

Need to confirm someone is 18 or 21+? Mobile IDs can confirm eligibility without revealing the person's full date of birth or address. This is ideal for alcohol, tobacco, cannabis sales, age-gated content, and events.

B. Identity and License Checks (Car Rentals, Rideshare)

Car rental services can use mobile IDs to instantly confirm whether a customer holds a valid license and whether they're authorized to drive a specific vehicle class. No need to manually inspect plastic cards or collect unnecessary data.

C. Local Residency or Member Access (Events, Gyms, Clubs)

Want to give discounts to local residents or offer member-only access to a service? Mobile IDs can provide verified location or affiliation data, helping you reduce abuse and maintain access controls.

D. Hospitality and Travel (Hotels, Airports)

Hotels can streamline check-in by requesting name and identity information digitally, without photocopying IDs. The TSA already accepts mobile driver's licenses at select airports, proving their viability in secure, high-stakes environments.

E. Financial Services and Regulated Industries

KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) rules require identity checks. Mobile IDs allow banks and fintech companies to verify identity without collecting unnecessary information, reducing risk and improving compliance.

5. The Benefits of Using Mobile IDs

Mobile IDs provide clear business advantages:

Fraud Prevention: Credentials are cryptographically signed and verified in real time, making them extremely difficult to fake or tamper with.
Privacy by Design: Customers can share only what is needed for a transaction. For example, "Yes, I am over 21" instead of revealing full name, address, and date of birth.
Customer Convenience: No forms to fill out or IDs to upload. A quick tap or scan can verify information instantly.
Faster Operations: Reduce bottlenecks in onboarding, access control, and compliance checks.
Trust and Transparency: Show customers you take their data privacy seriously, building long-term loyalty and brand reputation.

6. Common Misconceptions (And Why They're Wrong)

"This makes the internet less open."

Mobile IDs don't create new barriers. They simplify existing verification processes that are already required for legal or business reasons. If your business already needs to know someone's age or license status, mobile IDs just make that process safer and easier.

"This is a privacy risk."

In reality, mobile IDs are privacy-enhancing. Unlike uploading a photo of your full ID, users share only the minimum data needed. No unnecessary exposure of birthdates, addresses, or ID numbers.

"This will be too hard to implement."

While the numerous standards are complex, open source libraries that we maintain like id-verifier make requesting information very simple.

7. Real-World Adoption Is Already Happening

This isn't just theoretical. Real businesses and government agencies are already using mobile IDs:

TSA accepts mobile driver's licenses from Apple Wallet and Google Wallet at select U.S. airports.
Apple and Google have integrated mDL functionality into their native mobile platforms.
Car rental companies are piloting digital license checks using mDocs.
Retailers are exploring contactless, privacy-friendly age verification.
Governments in Arizona, Maryland, California, Georgia, and others are rolling out mobile IDs to residents.

This momentum indicates that mobile IDs are not just coming—they're already here.

8. What Your Business Can Do Today

You don't have to wait for widespread adoption to begin exploring mobile ID integration. Here's how to get started:

Identify where you currently request customer information (age, identity, license, residency)
Look for areas where fraud, friction, or data privacy are concerns
Plan for future integration with kiosks, apps, or customer service workflows
Start piloting optional UX flows that users can use to simplify existing processes

Adopting mobile ID support early puts your company ahead of the curve and sends a strong message to your customers that you take privacy and security seriously.

9. Conclusion

Mobile IDs represent the future of identity verification: secure, private, and user-controlled. Businesses that adopt them today can streamline operations, reduce fraud, and gain a competitive edge by respecting their customers' time and data.

This isn't about making the digital world more closed. It's about making what already exists safer, smarter, and more respectful. If your company depends on knowing who your customers are, it's time to consider a better way to ask.

Now is the time to start the conversation. Explore how mobile IDs can fit into your business workflows and lead the shift to a more secure digital identity ecosystem.

Why Your Business Should Start Accepting Mobile IDs: A Smarter, Safer Way to Verify Information