Money orders are major income source: PhilPost
The electronic mail may have practically killed the “snail mail,” once the main preoccupation of the country’s postal service, but life goes on for the Philippine Postal Corporation.
Postmaster General Hector Villanueva said PhilPost is thriving in money orders, which is now its major source of income.
Contrary to perception that PhilPost services would be become irrelevant because Filipinos has largely embraced the e-mail, he said that postal service is actually a flourishing business.
He said PhilPost has entered the remittance business, wherein it credits international money order to the PostalBank ATM accounts of the recipients.
The service now covers 12 countries Brunei, Hongkong, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Qatar, Singapore, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates.
Despite this new service, PhilPost still caters to the basic postal delivery needs such as express mail and registered as well parcel services for big businesses.
“Our advantage is that we’re the only one that penetrates the countryside. Most of our competitors concentrate on the cities, that’s where we get clobbered,” Villanueva said.
He said, however, that PhilPost can eventually catch up with major couriers because the countryside belongs to them.
The electronic mail may have practically killed the “snail mail,” once the main preoccupation of the country’s postal service, but life goes on for the Philippine Postal Corporation.
Postmaster General Hector Villanueva said PhilPost is thriving in money orders, which is now its major source of income.
“Those ordinary seven-peso letters for ordinary airmail are not our core business anymore. If we still depend on that, we will close down. So that’s only a civic, a missionary (duty) for us,” said Villanueva, who was in Bacolod City yesterday for the inauguration of the local branch of the Philippine Postal Savings Bank.
Contrary to perception that PhilPost services would be become irrelevant because Filipinos has largely embraced the e-mail, he said that postal service is actually a flourishing business.
“It’s a sunshine industry all over the world. The same technology that killed the letters is the same technology we’re using to promote remittance,” Villanueva said.
He said PhilPost has entered the remittance business, wherein it credits international money order to the PostalBank ATM accounts of the recipients.
The service now covers 12 countries Brunei, Hongkong, Indonesia, Iran, Japan, Korea, Kuwait, Malaysia, Qatar, Singapore, Thailand, and the United Arab Emirates.
Despite this new service, PhilPost still caters to the basic postal delivery needs such as express mail and registered as well parcel services for big businesses.
“Our advantage is that we’re the only one that penetrates the countryside. Most of our competitors concentrate on the cities, that’s where we get clobbered,” Villanueva said.
He said, however, that PhilPost can eventually catch up with major couriers because the countryside belongs to them.
“Once we go outside the cities, we’re the king,” he said.
