A MAJOR pub chain said it will not be accepting the new Digital ID for alcohol purchases as its current physical form of checking ID already “works well”.

Wetherspoons in Monmouth will be not be accepting Digital ID from users and said that checking physical ID already works well and is “understood by all parties.”

Digital ID has been launched in England and Wales providing an alternative way of age verification to purchase alcohol.

Licensed premises such as pubs, music venues, shop and restaurants will now have another alternative method to verify customers are over 18.

A spokesperson for Wetherspoons said: “Wetherspoons pubs do not accept digital ID.

“The existing system of physical ID works very well and is understood by all parties.

“In line with the rest of the licensed trade we will study the proposals and consider implementation if there are genuine benefits to customers and employees.”

The new rules came into force on Tuesday September 15, offering an additional way ID checks can be done, with one of the positive outlooks being that customers won’t need to worry if they left their ID at home because they can now use their phone to prove their age.

Another reason why the government said Digital ID is useful is it doesn’t contain as much personal information including the individuals full name, and home address. Instead, it will just provide a confirmation that they are over 18.

To coincide with the apparent benefits it installs greater confidence in business owners due to the fact that it prevents fakes or borrowed identification going unnoticed. The new system can be as simple as scanning a QR code for staff to tap where they will receive confirmation of the individuals age. It will also make it easier during busier periods.

Despite the new system being allowed in England and Wales it is still down to the the business as to whether they will be accepting it at the time.

To expand our findings The Beacon conducted a Facebook poll to gather thoughts from residents and whether they will support the new Digital ID scheme. From our findings we discovered that 51 per cent of people support the Digital ID system, 43 per cent oppose the idea and five per cent need more information.

Another Monmouth pub, The Robin Hood said they are still unsure about it because they haven’t had a chance to look into it properly yet.

Clair Beard, Co-owner from the pub, said: “ I’m skeptical about it but I haven’t had a chance to look into it properly. I am happy to come back with views further down the line once I have looked into it more.”

The Beacon also contacted The Valiant Pub Company to see whether pubs operated by this company including The Nags Head and The Punch House will be accepting digital ID. The company said they also won’t be accepting.