Poste Italiane’s tranformation project to “simplify the lives of its citizens”

Poste Italiane has launched the Polis project to transform post offices into digital services hubs (‘Case dei Servizi Digitali’), enabling quick and easy access to a variety of Public Administration services in 7,000 municipalities with less than 15,000 inhabitants.

The project was presented this week to 7,000 Mayors of the municipalities invited to Rome, by Maria Bianca Farina, President of Poste Italiane and Matteo Del Fante, CEO and General
Manager, in the presence of the President of the Republic, Sergio Mattarella, the Prime Minister, Giorgia Meloni, the Secretary of State of the Holy See, Cardinal Pietro Parolin and numerous government and institutional representatives. The event was attended by the Ministers of the Economy and Finance, Giancarlo Giorgetti, Enterprise and Made in Italy, Adolfo Urso, Public Administration, Paolo Zangrillo and the President of ANCI (National Association of Italian Municipalities), Antonio De Caro.

Also present were the Minister of the Interior, Matteo Piantedosi, the Minister of Justice, Carlo Nordio, the Minister of Defence, Guido Crosetto, the Minister for Sport and Youth, Andrea Abodi, the Minister for Family, Natality and Equal Opportunities, Eugenia Maria Roccella and the Minister for European Affairs, Raffaele Fitto.

Thanks to Polis, which was approved by Decree Law 59/2021 and funded with €800 million from the Complementary Fund of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, Poste Italiane is
transforming 7,000 post offices in small municipalities into digital Public Administration hubs open 24 hours a day.

In addition to postal, banking, parcels, insurance and telecommunications services, citizens will be able to request registry and civil status certificates, electronic identity cards, passports,
tax codes for newborns, social security and judicial certificates and a variety of other services.

Post offices renovation and technological upgrade began immediately after the European Commission gave its approval to the project at the end of October 2022. In only a few months,
Poste Italiane has already revamped 40 post offices and an additional 230 sites are work-in progress. By the end of the year renovation work will commence on a further 1,500 new Polis
premises.

Maria Bianca Farina, the President of Poste Italiane, commented: “With Polis, we want to continue to offer support to Italy’s transformation. Poste Italiane, with over 160 years of history and a forward-looking approach, understands Italy and is an integral part of the country. The Polis project is dedicated to communities representing a vast majority of the national territory. These communities, that over time have lost population, strength and wealth, continue to be vibrant and centres of excellence. Poste Italiane will help to bridge the significant infrastructure gap between cities and small municipalities by providing essential services while increasing the quality of life of its citizens”.

Matteo Del Fante, Poste Italiane CEO and General Manager, commented: “The Polis project was developed to ensure that 16 million Italians living in communities with fewer than 15,000 inhabitants have equal access to services provided by the Public Administration, bringing them closer to the State. Polis aims to simplify the lives of these citizens, thanks to digital Public Administration services available in post offices. Its implementation also helps to accelerate the country’s digital transformation. Poste Italiane has been able to create value in recent years through an inclusive approach that has delivered increasingly advanced services to a growing number of people and Polis is its natural continuation”.

Giuseppe Lasco, Poste Italiane Co-General Manager commented: “Polis is the enabler confirming Poste Italiane’s mission as a systemic pillar supporting Italy’s economic development and social cohesion. I would like to express my gratitude for a project that is now fully operational. Polis is a project supporting the country, becoming a reality thanks to the commitment of all our employees and virtuous collaboration with Institutions.”

With Polis, citizens will be able to request certificates at post office counters, totems and ATMs operating 7 days a week, 24 hours a day. Polis will also contribute to increase energy efficiency
and green mobility with the installation of 5,000 electric vehicle charging stations and 1,000 photovoltaic panels.

Poste Italiane will also launch ‘Spazi per l’Italia’ initiative, the country’s largest co-working network including 250 smart and interconnected sites from the refurbishment of existing
company-owned premises.

All project details can be found on the Poste Italiane website at: https://www.posteitaliane.it/progetto-polis