A public eligibility QR code could support on-site discount tools

Paper certificates have moved to the phone screen

On October 29, 2026, Korea’s Ministry of the Interior and Safety (행정안전부), the government ministry responsible for public administration, formally launched the Public MyData Simple Verification Service (공공 마이데이터 간편확인서비스). A venue such as an amusement park, tourist attraction, or sports facility can post a QR code on site. Visitors can then verify their eligibility without installing a separate app or creating an account.

A visitor scans the QR code with a phone and verifies their identity through a method such as Kakao or Naver. After consenting to provide information, eligibility needed for a discount—such as being in a multi-child family, having a disability registration, or being a person of national merit—appears on the screen. A staff member views that screen and applies the benefit.

The service can verify 23 categories of eligibility information. They include place of residence; families with two or more children and with three or more children; disability registration; senior benefits for people aged 60 or older and 65 or older; single-parent families; basic livelihood security recipients; near-poverty households; and pregnant people. This covers a range where a facility running several discount programmes can reduce the need to explain a different certificate for each one.

According to the Ministry of the Interior and Safety, the initial Government24 app-based version was used by about 9,300 people. After collecting feedback from 4,936 people, it changed to a method that does not require app installation. Eight private and public sites tested the redesigned service before formal operation. That suggests Korea is still closer to expanding adoption sites than to having the service already established nationwide.

A venue does not need to receive a full household registration document containing a child’s resident registration number or information about other household members. Only the minimum information needed to determine eligibility appears on the visitor’s screen, and the government says the venue does not separately store the result. ID and paper-document checks remain available for people who have difficulty using phones.

The first customer is a small venue with many discount types

Consider an operator of a local hands-on experience venue with 12 staff members and two ticket windows. The venue offers discounts for local residents, multi-child families, people with disabilities, people of national merit, and seniors. Temporary staff also work at the ticket desk on weekends.

For now, it is reasonable to assume that visitors are asked for documents such as ID or household registration records, while staff switch between discount guidance and documents. Staff may give different instructions on which document is needed. If they miss a child-age or address requirement, explanations at the counter become longer. Photographing or copying documents also creates a risk of retaining more personal information than necessary.

With the Simple Verification Service, the operator can choose the required eligibility categories on the Public MyData website and download a dedicated QR code to place at the counter. Once a visitor shows the authenticated screen, staff issue a ticket according to the venue’s discount rules. The ability to do this without building a new IT system matters to small facilities.

But the government QR code does not solve every task at a venue. The venue still applies discounts, fee reductions, and preferential benefits under its existing rules. It must also keep ID and paper-document checks alongside the digital path for people who have difficulty using digital devices.

The part worth charging for is therefore not eligibility verification itself, but the surrounding operations. Useful tools could manage QR codes across locations in one place, turn discount rules into a one-sentence instruction for staff, print signage, and let new staff practise with simulated screens. They should be separated from real eligibility information and verification results so those are not stored.

For the first ten customers, look beyond a one-location shop with one discount. Better prospects are operators of experience venues, campgrounds, swimming pools, or performance venues that run two or more sites and offer three or more preferential programmes. They can be identified through local-government tourism websites’ discount listings, public-facility operator lists, and local tourism business directories. It is an assumption to verify by phone that they currently rely on paper notices, staff training materials, and visual checks of IDs.

Simply issuing basic QR codes on a venue’s behalf is unlikely to create recurring revenue. A first customer has reason to pay if the product reduces queueing and discount disputes, standardises staff guidance across sites, and avoids collecting paper documents unnecessarily. Start with a small service that bundles QR guidance materials and a staff rule screen, rather than a large reservation or ticketing system.

Overseas services connected eligibility to the point of use

Japan’s Mirairo ID (ミライロID) lets people register a disability certificate in an app and present it at venues, transport services, and leisure sites. Alongside disability eligibility, it provides discounted tickets, digital coupons, and benefits from participating businesses.

The operator said that the service had about 700,000 users and about 4,200 participating businesses in October 2026. The user app is free. Revenue comes from business adoption and related work, while fees paid by individual businesses are not public. These figures are the operator’s own statements and should be read accordingly.

Australia’s Veteran Card places the Department of Veterans’ Affairs’ existing Gold Card and White Card in myGov, the government services app. Veterans, dependants, and others can show their eligibility for health care, treatment, and discounts. A refreshed QR code and moving visual marker make reuse of screenshots more difficult.

At launch, about 300,000 holders of existing cards were eligible to move them to the digital card. The government noted that digital cards might not be accepted everywhere at first. It is a case where the on-site staff acceptance process needs to be ready before the credential alone is enough.

France’s Large Families Card (Carte Familles Nombreuses) is a family-level card used by families with many children for rail and partner benefits. In 2023, a new online application system brought eligibility checks, issuance, and renewal into one place. At that time, the application fee was EUR 18 per family.

According to an operator report, about 300,000 cards were issued and more than 17,000 households registered after the new system launched. This is also an operator-reported count, but it shows how a single family eligibility status can become a repeat-use service when connected to multiple transport and commercial benefits.

Four things to build now

1. A multi-location QR rollout board

This is a service for a company operating several experience venues or sports facilities to manage, by location, eligibility categories, QR issuance status, and whether guidance materials are installed. It is for a site manager overseeing three or more locations that offer multi-child-family, disability, and veterans’ discounts.

Because Korean government QR codes can be issued without a separate IT build, the rollout process itself can be organised as a product. The first screen should place the site name, QR codes not yet installed, and staff-training completion status side by side.

2. A staff guide for discount rules

This service links public eligibility with a venue’s own discount rules and shows staff their next action in one sentence. It is for ticketing teams at amusement venues, performance venues, and swimming pools where weekend temporary staff change often.

It is needed now because eligibility can be verified on a phone, while the benefit is still applied under the venue’s existing rules. The first screen should include buttons to select the verified eligibility, the discount to apply, and a script to read to the visitor.

3. Find benefits for my family

This is a service for multi-child families or families of people of national merit to find eligible discounted places and preparation steps before visiting. It is for a guardian opening facility discount pages one by one while planning a weekend outing with children.

A shared eligibility-checking method can reduce the burden of comparing different document instructions for each venue. The first screen should include three fields: eligibility type, area to visit, and purpose such as transport, tourism, or sports.

4. An on-site helper for people who struggle with digital devices

This is a guidance tool that helps staff run ID and paper-document checks alongside digital checks for people who have difficulty using digital devices. It is for counter staff at recreation forests, public sports facilities, and local tourist sites with many older visitors.

The ID and paper-document route does not disappear when digital verification begins, so both processes need to be handled together. The first screen should offer three buttons—retry QR, help with authentication, and check existing documents—with a short explanation for each step.

What to check in 30 minutes today

Choose three facilities on a local tourism website that offer at least two types of discounts for multi-child families, people with disabilities, or people of national merit. Call the ticketing contact and ask only what documents they currently inspect, what is most confusing in temporary-staff training, and whether they would consider a quote for a paid tool that bundles QR rollout with a staff guidance screen. If two of the three describe the same problem and one asks for screen examples or a quote, it is worth looking for the first ten customers.

Why this matters where you are

Korea’s case depends on a government-run eligibility service, Korean public-benefit categories, and venues applying their own existing discount rules. Check whether your market has a comparable way to verify eligibility without sharing full documents, and whether venue staff still need help applying local rules consistently. If it does, the operational layer—signage, staff guidance, rollout tracking, and privacy-conscious workflows—may be the part worth building.