Australia Post rolls out point-of-sale upgrades for rural post offices

Australia Post is rolling out new web-linked point-of-sale systems for more than 300 regional and rural licensed post offices from next month. The national postal operator said most of the post offices earmarked for the new technology will receive the FlexiPOS system by mid-2015.

The new platform should provide customers with access to a broader range of products and services at their local post office, the Post said.

This will include access to banking services, additional payment methods, recharge vouchers, prepaid cards, postage label printing, bill payment services, money orders and automatic tax receipt printing.

The implementation of the FlexiPOS system comes as part of a wider investment programme for Australia Post’s regional and rural network which also includes the largest ever annual increase in payments to post office licensees.

The state-owned company said it was committed to maintaining its regional and rural post office network as it modernises the business in the face of changing consumer needs, and with letter volumes falling.

The FlexiPOS system is seen as a “mini” version of Australia Post’s EPOS electronic counter system in use in most other licensed post offices. For manually operated post offices, it should mean improving efficiency and therefore income generation.

Christine Corbett, Executive General Manager Postal Services, said Australia Post was focussed on creating new revenue streams for post office licensees.

“We view our nationwide retail network as a critical strategic advantage, so we’re determined to maintain the role of the post office as a provider of vital, trusted services in communities throughout Australia,” she said.

“Despite the challenging retailing conditions of the past four years we have maintained the number of post offices at a consistent level — just over 4,400 outlets, with more than 2,500 in rural and regional Australia.”