Deliveroo Using Facial Recognition to Clamp Down on Shared Accounts

The UK food delivery service Deliveroo will be expanding its use of facial recognition to verify the identities of registered riders. Under the new system, riders will first be asked to upload a selfie of themselves, and will then be asked to take follow-up selfies at random times to verify their identity while they are on the go. Those new selfies will be compared to the original to make sure there is a match.

The new system is being rolled out in an effort to prevent people from renting or selling their accounts to unregistered individuals. Account holders are allowed to delegate tasks to a substitute, but that substitute still needs to have valid work documents and a valid vehicle license, in addition to insurance. They must also pass a criminal background check, with Deliveroo offering to reimburse the rider for half of that expense.

The problem is that many Deliveroo riders forego those mandatory checks, and instead rent or sell their account to illegal migrants and other people without proper documentation. The selfies will prevent such practices, since only those registered with the system will be authorized to continue providing delivery services.

As an additional countermeasure, Deliveroo will no longer allow users to change their payment details through the app. The company will instead implement a separate verification process to ensure that payment goes to a registered individual. As a result, any illegal workers that try to keep up with a renting scheme will need to rely on the true account holder to make regular payments, which adds an extra (and potentially prohibitive) layer of complexity to the process.

In October, Deliveroo announced that it would be using Onfido’s onboarding technology to verify the identities of new drivers. Uber has implemented similar measures in the UK, and has also asked drivers to take selfies to prove that they are wearing masks during the pandemic.

Source: The Grocer

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May 11, 2021 – by Eric Weiss