Tag: Europe

Royal Mail says siphoned-off aid claim ‘nonsense’ (UK)

Posted by | Jul 26, 2008 | |

Royal Mail rejected suggestion that millions of pounds of state aid intended to maintain vital rural post office services may be siphoned off to help pay for postal deliveries.
A spokesman for the group said the suggestion in a report from the all-party Commons business and enterprise committee, which sparked outrage among north and north-east MPs, is “complete nonsense”.
He was replying to a special report from the committee which also urged the independent watchdog National Audit Office “investigate the financial arrangements for outreach services”. Tory Chairman Peter Luff said his committee had heard evidence from Post Office Managing Director Alan Cook that the GBP 358million it receives from Royal Mail does not cover the cost of services it provides.
He said: “It is possible that this is down to inefficiency at Post Office Ltd, but it is also possible that it is because Royal Mail Group is inappropriately using Post Office Ltd, which receives some state support, to cross-subsidise its mail services.”
The spokesman said: “It’s complete nonsense to suggest that Royal Mail uses Post Office to subsidise the mails business and as Post Office Ltd made very clear, the issue is that it costs too much to run the post office network at a time when government and other traditional business is falling away.” He said so-called “outreach” services – which the committee feared are underfunded – “are one way to establish a commercially viable and successful business for a SubPostmaster providing services across a number of communities within the funding available from the government.”

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UPU on way to adopting a new Postal Payment Services Agreement

Posted by | Jul 25, 2008 | |

The UPU member countries attending 25th July afternoon’s Committee 6 meeting at the Universal Postal Congress agreed to continue their deliberations on the proposal for a new Postal Payment Services Agreement.

The new Agreement comes with a multilateral framework to facilitate the exchange of money transfers between postal operators, especially by electronic means.

As a result, the current international treaty will be greatly improved. Among other things, the document clearly defines the UPU’s postal payment services, while taking into account the principles of technological neutrality (enabling the interconnection of networks and systems), data confidentiality, the fight against money laundering, the secure handling and transmission of payment orders, consumer protection and the reliability of payments among operators.

Postal payments, a term used to define four kinds of exchanges (cash to cash, cash to account, account to cash and account to account), play an important social role in that they are more accessible and on offer to the public at large, without discrimination. After all, many people, including a large number of migrants, have no access to banking services. This gap is filled by the worldwide postal network, with more than 660,000 post offices, most them located in rural or remote areas.

Developing postal payment services via an electronic network has become a UPU priority. It is widely acknowledged that remittances sent by migrants contribute to development and poverty reduction. The assistance generated by these remittances outstrips State development aid and direct international investments combined, according to Edouard Dayan, Secretary General of the Congress.

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General debate sets tone for UPU Congress

Posted by | Jul 25, 2008 | |

Decision-makers from the international community today participated in a high-level general debate during the 24th Universal Postal Congress. Themed “The postal sector, an essential component of the global economy”, the debate gathered stakeholders from the larger postal sector.

The World Trade Organization stressed the crucial role infrastructures such as postal services play in international trade. For the International Monetary Fund, the postal sector has a considerable impact on the reduction of trade costs. For its part, the World Bank noted the importance of money transfer services for migrants, adding that postal operators were in a unique position to offer such services so essential to development. The Russian Post said postal networks could work with banks to offer additional services and increase their revenues.

eBay International noted the role of postal services in the distribution of millions of items bought online annually. However, many online shoppers still hesitate to order goods from abroad. Only 20 pct of goods purchased on eBay sites cross borders. Citing high shipment costs and a need for improved quality of service, eBay urged postal operators to find solutions to these issues.

The Tunisian Post showed how the Government has made postal services part of a national policy to promote the information society by using the Post as a trusted intermediary in the electronic world and as a facilitator of e-commerce. On a regional level, the African Union expressed its desire to integrate postal services in its regional infrastructure development plan, as it does with water, electricity, telecommunications and transportation.

The United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) finally invited the postal sector to take part in a worldwide awareness campaign on environment challenges. Thanks to an agreement signed in April between the UPU and UNEP, postal operators will work together on greening the postal sector.

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SwissPostCertificate : The simple way to a secure digital identity

Posted by | Jul 24, 2008 | |

The SwissPostCertificate is available at over 2,400 post offices and can now be acquired more easily and at a more attractive introductory price. The SwissPostCertificate is a form of digital ID and can be likened to a passport or ID card for the digital world, enabling users to communicate confidentially. Swiss Post’s digital ID is now available at a more attractive introductory price and via a much simpler procedure. With the help of the new wizard, customers can now download the digital certificate for authentication, signing and encryption with just a few clicks of the mouse after completing the registration and identification procedure.
The personal identification (yellow identification) required for the SwissPostCertificate has been possible at all of the 2,400 Swiss post offices since April. Thanks to the new means of identification, which requires a notarially certified or legally attested copy of an identity document, the certificate can now be purchased worldwide. Registration is the key to secure identification as SwissPostCertificates are only issued once the registration documents and the customer’s identity have been carefully checked.
Another benefit is that the customer can now choose whether to pay for the SwissPostCertificate annually or for three years in advance. Furthermore, the introductory price for the various certificates has been reduced for natural persons. The cost for the first year was previously CHF 90 for the starter kit plus a minimum annual fee of CHF 35. Now, the entire package is available for under CHF 100. Anyone opting for the three-year deal will benefit from a discount. New Swiss customers needing to use the certificate immediately will be able to apply their digital signature in just 24 hours, thanks to the express order option.
1 CHF = 0.963112 USD

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Postal Operators – Fuel prices hitting profits

Posted by | Jul 24, 2008 | |

Higher fuel prices are having an impact on operating profit for all postal operators, and with many European countries already investing in alternative fuel sources, the U.S. Postal Service is now looking for ways to reduce it’s annual fuel bill, expected to increase by USD 600m this year.

The U.S. Postal Service has around 195,000 local delivery trucks and is already testing alternative transport powered by hydrogen, ethanol, lpg, and electricity.

French postal operator La Poste has a long-term plan to replace as much of its fleet as possible with electrically powered cars and is already using the battery-powered CleaNova, produced by Société de Véhicules Electriques (SVE), a joint venture between Dassault and Heuliez. Italian postal operator, Poste Italiane, has continued to replace many of its vehicles with gas-powered versions and has carried out several trials on alternative fuel vehicles, with special interest on serial-hybrid vans.

Royal mail aims to reduce its fleet fossil fuel usage by 14 pct by 2010 and has already bought Smith Edison and Newton higher function delivery vehicles which have a top speed of up to 50mph and can cover up to 150 miles on one battery charge. Royal Mail recently launched a company wide awareness programme to help its 180,000 people switch to greener driving, whether for social or work driving. And almost 1,000 Royal Mail drivers have received in-depth classroom training to help them adopt more environmentally-friendly motoring practices with plans to train a further 2,000 in the coming months.

With petrol and diesel prices expected to stay high this year, alternative fuels are likely to play a greater part in the selection of replacement vehicles for most postal operators.

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