UPU and Russia Post open financial centre in Moscow

The Universal Postal Union (UPU) and Russia Post have entered an agreement to launch a regional technical centre for financial services in Moscow. The centre will provide consulting and technical services related to the UPU’s software in this business area to Posts in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

UPU director general Edouard Dayan and Russia Post CEO Alexander Kisselev signed the agreement last week at the Pochtovaya Troika international postal forum in St. Petersburg.

“The support offered by the new centre will help designated operators better satisfy customers’ needs and increase their quality of service and revenues,” Dayan said.

The centre will support Posts as they install and implement the UPU’s IFS, IFS Light, STEFI and QCS applications. The centre will also provide a platform for training and execution of regional co-operation projects.

The new facility will be managed by Russia Post, which is already processing 70% of international money orders in Eastern Europe and Central Asia.

“Thanks to this regional centre, new users will be able to connect to the worldwide electronic payment network. I am convinced that our joint efforts and actions will enable us to strengthen existing international financial services and create new ones, such as urgent money order and cash-on-delivery services,” said Dayan.

The Moscow facility is the UPU’s fifth regional support centre, joining centres in Singapore, Tanzania, Puerto Rico and Uruguay.

These centres provide technical support and training for software produced by the UPU’s technical arm, the Postal Technology Centre, in an environment that respects the languages, cultures and needs of the region in question.