UK businesses to pay postage online
Companies will be able to buy postage over the internet under a pilot scheme unveiled by Royal Mail (RM) yesterday.
According to RM, the new service will be available to “selected customers” in January and February next year, and will be extended in the autumn if it is successful.
Gillian Wilmot, managing director of mail markets, said: “We want customers to have a choice about how they access our products and services in a way that best suits them.”
People using the service will have to set up a payment account, using credit or debit card. All types of postage will be available and will be printed directly onto envelopes or labels.
It is hoped that, in future, users will be able to print company slogans alongside their postage mark. RM said it would adhere to the “highest standard in website security”.
“Royal Mail will be the only UK postal operator to offer online postage and is well placed to offer this type of initiative. The new service should be a real boost for businesses large and small.”
RM has come in for severe criticism from the SME community because of its drive to cut costs, which many argue hit small companies unfairly, particularly those operating from residential addresses.
The former monopoly has announced thousands of job cuts, coupled with post office closures and the removal of the second post. Even so, the company still loses more than £1 million a day.
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