What We Card does

We Card (legally The We Card Program, Inc.) is a US national non-profit organization founded in 1995 and headquartered in Arlington, Virginia. The organization provides age-verification compliance training, educational materials, and mystery-shopping services to retailers of tobacco, alcohol, e-cigarettes, vapor products, nicotine pouches, and other age-restricted products. Its stated mission is to help retailers comply with the federal 21-year minimum-age law and corresponding state and local regulations preventing underage sales. We Card is supported by national and state retail trade associations, government officials, and community groups, which gives it a quasi-official compliance posture in the US retail ecosystem.

The company's product portfolio is built around three core offerings: (1) award-winning eLearning courses (Employee, Refresher, and Manager) hosted on a dedicated learning platform at wecard.learningcart.com that include FDA content, state-law-specific modules, gaming, role-playing, and customer-cashier simulations; (2) a physical and digital catalog of compliance materials sold through store.wecard.org, including window/door decals, stickers, wobblers, training posters, employee guides, and annual 2026 Renewal Kits; and (3) the ID Check-Up bi-monthly mystery-shopping service that audits whether store employees are carding for age-restricted products. Recent product additions include the Age Checker mobile app for iPhone and Android and the We Card Quick Courses free microlearning suite, while the Age Verification Tools portal aggregates third-party ID-scanning solutions for point-of-sale integration. We Card does not develop proprietary technology platforms; its Age Checker and ID-scanning capabilities appear to be delivered through partner integrations rather than in-house technology.

We Card's revenue model blends catalog sales (one-time unit purchases of low-priced signage and renewal kits, with volume discounts at 500+ units) with recurring training-course subscriptions. Pricing examples include training posters at $4.95, de-escalation tipsheets at $1.50, 2026 Age of Purchase Calendars at $13.99, and 2026 Renewal Kits at $19.99. Distribution is multi-channel — e-commerce, toll-free phone ordering (1-800-934-3968), and traditional mail-order catalog — targeting both SMB individual retailers and large national chains (Kroger is a named enterprise customer receiving custom signage). The organization complements paid offerings with free Quick Courses and free campaign kits (BARI and WCWC) aimed at social-sourcing prevention. Operating geographies are limited to the United States, with an explicit prohibition on EU personal data collection, and the company does not disclose revenue, funding, or financial statements.

Name

We Card

Legal name

The We Card Program, Inc.

Website

https://wecard.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1995

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

We Card is a US national non-profit (founded 1995) that provides age-verification compliance training, signage, mystery-shopping services, and ID-verification tools to retailers selling tobacco, alcohol, vapor, and other age-restricted products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Arlington

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Retail Compliance Materials Sales: We Card generates revenue through the sale of physical compliance materials including signage (window/door decals, stickers, wobblers), training tools (tip sheets, employee guides, training posters), and renewal kits. These are one-time product purchases as evidenced by their mail-order catalog operation model.
2. Training Course Subscriptions: The organization offers three award-winning training courses (Employee, Refresher, and Manager) through their eLearning center (wecard.learningcart.com) featuring gaming, role-playing, and customer-cashier scenarios. These courses include FDA content and state law-specific training.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

We Card is a national non-profit organization that helps U.S. retailers of tobacco, alcohol, e-cigarettes, vapor products, and other age-restricted products comply with federal, state, and local youth-access laws. It sells physical compliance materials (signage, posters, age-calculation calendars, employee guides, renewal kits) through a mail-order/e-commerce catalog and delivers award-winning online training courses (Employee, Refresher, Manager) plus mystery shopping (ID Check-Up) services. Free resources include Quick Courses, the Age Checker mobile app, and social-sourcing prevention signage kits.

Product overview

The We Card Program is a national non-profit organization serving retailers of tobacco, alcohol, e-cigarettes, vapor products and other age-restricted products. The core offering is an age verification compliance program that provides retailers with training courses (Employee, Refresher & Manager), ID Check-Up mystery shopping services, and Age Verification Tools including ID scanning technology. The product portfolio includes the Age Checker mobile app for iPhone and Android, We Card Quick Courses (free online training modules including ID Scanner Classic), and 2026 Kits (Renewal Kits and E-Vapor Kits) containing age calculation tools, signage materials, and employee guides. The company also offers free campaign kits including Be A Real Influencer (BARI) and We Card We Care (WCWC) for social sourcing prevention. All products support compliance with federal 21-year minimum-age laws and state-specific regulations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• We Card Quick Courses: Free interactive training courses for retail employees on ID scanning and age verification.
• Age Checker App
• Age Verification Tools

Products and services

• Training Courses (Employee, Refresher & Manager) Award-winning online training courses (Employee, Refresher, Manager) featuring gaming, role-playing, and customer-cashier scenarios with FDA content and state law specific modules, sold via subscription on the eLearning center for retail employees and managers who handle age-restricted product sales.
• ID Check-Up Mystery Shopping Service Bi-monthly mystery shopping service that audits whether store employees are properly carding customers for tobacco, alcohol, and e-cigarettes/vaping products, sold to retailers who need ongoing third-party compliance verification.
• Age Checker App Mobile application available for iPhone and Android that helps retail employees quickly calculate and verify whether a customer meets the legal minimum age to purchase age-restricted products, distributed to retailers as a free age-verification tool.
• Age Verification Tools Curated set of ID scanning tools and POS-integrated scanners, some powered by We Card and others sourced from third-party partners, sold or recommended to retailers for point-of-sale age verification of customers purchasing age-restricted products.
• Training Tools (Tipsheets, Employee Guides, Posters) Physical training support materials sold individually through the We Card store, including laminated tipsheets (e.g., A-E-R-O de-escalation technique), employee guides, and training posters covering ID scanning, fake ID detection, and handling third-party purchase attempts at the point of sale.
• Age Calculation Tools (Calendars & Stickers) Annual 12-month age-of-purchase calendars and accompanying age stickers that display the most recent acceptable birth date for legal purchase of tobacco, vapor, nicotine pouches, and alcohol, sold individually to retailers for use at the point of sale.
• Signage Materials (Decals, Wobblers, Stickers, Lapel Pins) Point-of-sale signage sold to retailers, including window/door decals (e.g., Tobacco 21 Under 30 and Under 50 versions), stickers, wobblers, lapel pins, and under-30 signage that communicate minimum-age and carding requirements to customers in-store.
• 2026 Kits (Renewal Kits & E-Vapor Kits) Annual bundled kits including the 2026 Renewal Kit-Age 21 Tobacco/Vapor ($19.99) and dedicated e-vapor kits that package a We Card Calendar, age-of-purchase stickers, employee guides, and California-specific STAKE Act signage for retailers needing a single annual compliance refresh.
• We Card Quick Courses (Free Online Training) Free, interactive 10-15 minute online training modules (four courses available), including ID Scanner Classic, that give retail employees quick practice on ID scanning and customer-interaction scenarios without requiring a paid subscription.
• We Card BARI Kit (Be A Real Influencer) Free campaign signage kit distributed to retailers to help prevent adult purchases of tobacco and vapor products on behalf of underage youth (social sourcing prevention) through in-store messaging materials.
• We Card WCWC Kit (We Card We Care) Free campaign signage kit distributed to retailers to help prevent adult purchases of tobacco and vapor products on behalf of underage youth (social sourcing prevention) through community awareness messaging displayed in stores.

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Regional players

• Responsible Retailing: Responsible Retailing is a UK-based non-profit organization providing age-restricted product training and certification for retailers. Highly comparable operating model and mission to We Card, but operating in a different geography (United Kingdom) without direct US market overlap.

Emerging players

• Persona: Persona is an identity verification platform with age verification capabilities used by marketplaces and consumer platforms. Comparable in the age verification dimension but broader in scope; increasingly relevant as digital native retail channels emerge for age-restricted products.
• TruAge: TruAge offers age verification technology intended for retailers selling age-restricted products. While narrower in product scope than We Card's combined training/materials/services bundle, it competes directly in the ID scanning and verification layer of the same compliance workflow.

Broad incumbents

• EverFi (Vector Solutions): EverFi, now part of Vector Solutions, provides compliance and regulatory training across regulated industries including alcohol. Comparable to We Card's training courses (Employee, Refresher, Manager) but operates as a broad commercial training platform rather than a specialized non-profit for age-restricted retail.
• Intellicheck: Intellicheck provides identity and age verification solutions, including document authentication used at retail point-of-sale. Comparable to We Card's ID scanning and age verification services, but as a publicly-traded, for-profit technology vendor serving multiple verticals beyond age-restricted retail.
• IDology (GBG): IDology, a GBG company, provides identity verification and age verification solutions for retailers, financial services, and other regulated industries. Comparable to We Card's Age Verification Tools offering but operates as a broader commercial identity verification platform rather than a specialized non-profit.

Direct peers

• AgeChecker.net: AgeChecker.net provides age verification services and APIs specifically designed for retailers of age-restricted products (tobacco, vape, alcohol, CBD). Most directly comparable to We Card's Age Checker app and Age Verification Tools offerings, with overlapping customer base and product.
• Veratad Technologies: Veratad offers age and identity verification solutions, including AgeMatch and IDComply, used by retailers to verify customer age for restricted purchases. Comparable to We Card's age verification tooling and mystery shopping services targeting the same retailer compliance market.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/wecardtraining
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/we-card

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about We Card