One of Australia’s largest members-only retailers Costco is believed to to be cracking down on non-members shopping at its stores.

Some of its stores in the US are reportedly installing membership scanners to verify the identity of those shopping at the stores and to prevent non-members from using cards that belong to friends or other family members but not to them.

The big box retailer has announced plans to check membership cards as shoppers enter the store in the coming months.

“Once deployed, prior to entering, all members must scan their physical or digital membership card by placing the barcode or QR Code against the scanner,” an announcement explained.

Members who do not have their photo on their Costco membership card will be required to provide a photo ID and are encouraged to update their card with a photo at the membership desk.

Guests of those members will still be allowed to enter but must be accompanied by a cardholder.

The automated process has been rolled out in several locations across Washington and California and has been used in countries such as the UK for several years. Stores in New York, Florida, Texas and Pennsylvania have confirmed they will soon implement it. Stores in Australia are tipped to follow suit.

“We don’t feel it’s right that non-members receive the same benefits and pricing as our members,” a spokesperson previously told Business Insider.

The new membership card scanners come as Costco is cracking down on membership sharing, pushing ahead with technological updates amid taking steps to raise membership fees.

In Australia and New Zealand, Costco operates 15 warehouse-style stores, and the retailer’s $4.4 billion in 2023 sales represented a 20 per cent increase on 2022, which was also up 30 per cent on 2021.

At present, the most affordable personal membership plan is the Gold Star Membership which costs A$65 annually and is valid at all Costco stores worldwide. The Gold Star Executive Membership plan costs A$130 and offers an annual 2 per cent reward on qualified warehouse and online purchases as well as benefits on Costco services.

While Costco recently announced membership rate rises for Canada and the US, it is tipped to raise membership prices in Australia as well.