The Problem
Alcohol sales in Iceland are legally restricted to customers aged 20 and over. The original Shopify flow: email + password with a separate age check by phone was fragmented and confusing, especially for customers who'd been imported from WooCommerce. Age verification sometimes happened late in the process and in different places, increasing friction and the risk of non-compliant or abandoned purchases.
The Solution
We implemented a unified Auðkenni-based login as the main entry point, via SIM (phone number) or the Auðkenni App (SSN). After successful e-ID authentication and age check (must be 20+), the Shopify customer is found or created and logged in via Multipass. If no account exists, a short registration form is shown, and then the user is auto-logged in. A separate fallback login (email + password, with tags and expiry metafields) exists only for tourists and customers without an Icelandic ID.
Why It Mattered
Age and identity are now verified reliably at login, rather than as an afterthought. Customers have a single, clear flow to access their account and buy alcohol, which cuts through the confusion left over from the WooCommerce migration. It improves legal compliance, lowers the risk of underage access, and simplifies support around login, activation, and age checks.
Technical Details
A dedicated backend app on DigitalOcean integrates with the Auðkenni REST API (SIM + App) and Shopify (Admin API + Multipass). It exposes endpoints like verify-sim, get-app-verification-code, verify-app, and register-and-login. Successful Auðkenni responses validate age, derive SSN, and link or create Shopify customers, with SSN stored in metafields. Multipass generates a secure redirect URL to log users into Shopify. Tourist accounts are marked with tags and expiry metafields and handled separately via standard email/password login.
