Whanganui AA Centre now offering RealMe verification service

Locals can now visit the Whanganui AA Centre to verify their RealMe identity. Photo / Bevan Conley

The Whanganui AA Centre has a new service which will help people enrol online for this year's general election.

People who need their photo taken and documents checked and scanned to verify their RealMe identity can now visit the centre to complete the process.

RealMe is a government initiative aimed at making it more secure for people to do things online by proving their identity. It is used by a range of businesses, services and government departments.

The AA began offering RealMe identity verification as a contracted service via AA Centres, driver and vehicle licensing agents and mobile agents shortly before the Covid-19 lockdown after a successful pilot programme.

AA Whanganui district manager Anne-Marie Farmer said the centre is thrilled to offer the RealMe service to the community.

"A RealMe identity is incredibly useful for New Zealanders, whether it be a first-time student seeking a loan  with  Studylink or someone who is creating an account to enrol to vote in this year's election," Farmer said.

"Our centre was closed due to Covid-19 before many New Zealanders had the chance to visit so we are glad that those looking to verify their identity can now do so."

The centre has experienced heavy demand since reopening at alert level 2, with more than 1300 people visiting in the first two weeks.

"We are continuing to follow Ministry of Health standards to ensure the safety of our people and customers as we move into winter," Farmer said.

"This includes having plastic sneeze barriers on our counters and additional hand sanitisation stations. We also have a cleaning regime to ensure the safety of high-touch areas."

People can also go to the centre for driver and vehicle licensing, to pay road user charges, for Ministry of Social Development and SuperGold images, personal IRD number application, and more.