DRINKERS will be able to buy booze with digital ID next year to spare the faff of taking physical documents on a night out.
New laws will let pub landlords or supermarket checkout staff verify a customer’s age through an app.
Ministers hope it will cut waiting times at bars, while making young women safer as they will not have to show their addresses that appear on driving licences.
Tech Secretary Peter Kyle spilled the plans to The Sun over a pint – and toasted it as a game changer.
He said: “Paper based IDs just aren’t really fit for the modern age. People leave them at home. They’re tatty. They’re not actually accurate…
“So of course, now we’re going to make sure the law is on the side of people who want to just carry their ID digitally.
“Really simple, very straightforward, but it also means you’re not giving away any personal data. So it’s a real win win.”
The Labour Minister added people can “rest assured” he had “no plans” to entirely scrap physical documents.
He said the change – coming in the Data Bill next year – will make young people feel “safer” on a night out.
Mr Kyle claimed some youngsters are even shunning pubs for fear of having to reveal their address to potentially dodgy bar staff.
The Government has sanctioned dozens of independent digital ID apps which involve uploading scans of physical proof, before generating an ID code which bar staff can scan.
Industry bosses last night welcomed the changes to “make life easier for both consumers and businesses.”
UK Hospitality chief Kate Nicholls said: “There are fewer things more frustrating than realising you’ve forgotten your ID when heading to a pub, bar or restaurant, and hopefully these new measures will make that a thing of the past.”
James Hawkins from the British Beer and Pub Association said it would “reduce the risk of customers losing key ID documents when enjoying a night out.”
