GFT Technologies & Deutsche Post partnership

Germany’s businesses will soon be able to avoid the trip to the post office-letters, packages and other postal items can be stamped 24/7 using the Internet. ‘StampIT’ requires no special hardware are: all that is needed is some new software, a printer and PC with Internet access.
The United States led the way over the last two years, but consumers have found the system complicated. So when DeutschePost and its e-commerce partner GFT Technologies were developing the basic technology for Internet stamps, there were three main aims: it had to be possible to stamp letters easily, the system had to he a pure software solution, and it had to he possible for DeutschePost to check the stamping quickly.
Now, business customers, mainly small businesses and offices, can try ‘StampIT’ for themselves. The Internet stamp is being tested by 50 customers in Bonn and Otlenbach. Once these so far successful field tests have been completed, there will be no bars to a wide market launch.
All that is needed to obtain stumps from one’s desk are a standard PC with Internet connection and a printer.
The user logs on to DeustchePost’s Internet site and concludes a contract. The required software can also be downloaded from here and then any amount of postage can be bought via the Postage Point, which is used in a similar way to a phone card.
The sum is paid by direct debit from an agreed account. Compared to home banking it will handle about ten-times the number of transactions. Then the user goes online briefly to transfer data to the DeutschePost server, then the server sends an ID number in the form of a roughly stamp— sued matrix barcode back to the customer.
From the point of view of security, the German Internet stamp is far ahead of the American equivalent. Customer benefits will also be greater, because DeutschePost is striving to integrate the system seamlessly with all kinds of software products.