If you’re an active NEXUS member, you’ll often notice the dated kiosks are often malfunctioning, and the Canada Border Services Agency wants to change that with the deployment of some new technology.
The CBSA announced that existing kiosks that use iris recognition technology will be replaced with new ones starting this fall. New machines will leverage facial verification technology, and is described to be faster and more accurate.
Vancouver International Airport will be the first to launch starting this fall, with rolling updates across other Canadian airports:
- Halifax Stanfield International Airport
- Montréal Pierre Elliott Trudeau International Airport
- Ottawa Macdonald-Cartier International Airport
- Calgary International Airport
- Edmonton International Airport
- Toronto Pearson International Airport
- Winnipeg James Armstrong Richardson International Airport
- Billy Bishop Toronto City Airport
The agency has noted that upon the first use of the machines, members will need to upload a passport photo for storage and identity verification, while members who don’t have a passport “will be referred to an officer for identity verification.”
This modernization is intended to better serve NEXUS members travelling by air as facial biometric verification provides travellers with a simplified method of being identified. This initiative aligns the NEXUS program with international trends on traveller processing, and supports the CBSAs goal to increase efficiencies without compromising security.
CBSA
One important change is that customs declarations will no longer be a prompt on the machines, while those having to declare items will need to verbally do so to an officer. The CBSA hopes that this new process will speed up travel times through customs halls.
Source: NEXUS Air
