Outsourcing Logistics 2007 Best practices for managing 3PL relationships
Outsourcing Logistics 2007 Best practices for managing 3PL relationships
Read MoreTag: Italy
Services of General Interest (Including Postal setion)
Services of General Interest (Including Postal setion)
Read MorePayPass Trial in Italy To Tap Prepaid-Card Market
MasterCard Worldwide’s announcement last Friday (19th July) of plans by Italy’s postal bank to pilot PayPass could give contactless payment its first real test in the growing prepaid-card market.
BancoPosta, the financial services arm of Poste Italiane, will launch the trial by the end of the year, offering prepaid cards to new cardholders with the PayPass application onboard, according to MasterCard. Cardholders will be able to tap to pay at a relatively small number of merchant locations in Rome and Milan during the six- to eight-month trial.
Nearly all of the more than 14 million PayPass cards or tokens issued to date are either credit or debit cards. Few are prepaid, said Arne Pache, head of solution deployment in Europe for MasterCard. They include some of the 100,000-plus TaiwanMoney cards banks in Taiwan have issued for use with both merchants and transit operators in southern Taiwan. Also, MasterCard gave away a reported 5,000 novelty wristbands loaded with contactless chips and $25 (18.08 euros) credit to fans at a New York sports stadium last year.
Results of a study commissioned by MasterCard and released by the card scheme in May projected European consumers would spend USD 163 billion (117.9 billion euros) with prepaid cards by 2010, which will be more than a quarter of the global total. The study, conducted by the Boston Consulting Group, projected the United States would account for just under 46 pct of total prepaid-card spending. Italy would rank fifth worldwide, just behind the United Kingdom. The projections include prepaid cards issued by governments to deliver welfare benefits, as well as prepaid gift cards.
Read MoreThe battle over postal services continued last week as SLP-CISL (Italy) hosted a high profile convention on the issue
Several hundred delegates cheered the words of SLP General Secretary Mario Petitto as he vowed to continue the fight against reckless liberalisation of one of Europe’s most treasured services. Among the speakers, including Poste Italiane representatives, parliamentarians and other stakeholders, was the Italian Minister for Communications, Paolo Gentiloni, who reported that the fight in the European Council was far from over as governments including his own and those of Spain, France, Belgium and Poland seek to curb the poorly considered, neoliberal overtures of the European Commission. Mr,. Gentiloni claimed that the legal uncertainty that would be created by the Commission’s new proposals on financing for the universal service obligation could threaten the guaranteed services currently afforded to all EU citizens.
Speaking on behalf of UNI, Sam Ironside explained the history behind the current debate, including the failure of stakeholders to prevent the concept of ever-greater liberalisation way back in 1994. Ironside called on all UNI affiliates to follow the excellent example of SLP in engaging their ministries ahead of the next Council discussions. He also challenged Italian and all affiliates to take the fight for terms and conditions in the sector to the front line – the new competitor companies and the integrators, such as DHL and TNT. This, he argued, was the only way to fight the constant pressure on salary levels throughout the sector.
Read MoreItaly govt plans to privatize post office in next few years
The Italian government plans to sell stakes in the Poste Italiane-run post office, and in publishing house Istituto Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato SpA in the next few years, the Radiocor wire agency reported, citing a draft copy of the government’s 2008-2011 economic and financial planning program (DPEF).
The DPEF, which sets the country’s medium-term objectives and the broad ways to achieve them, is due to be approved later today.
Poligrafico e Zecca dello Stato is a publishing house for Italy’s official journal and other government publications as well as the country’s mint.
In the next few months, the sale on the stock exchange of a stake in Fincantieri is also expected, with 51 pct of the ship-yard staying in the hands of the state, Radiocor reported, citing the document.
The DPEF also includes plans to privatize state-ferry company Tirrenia.
The document also defines as strategic stakes in companies in the energy and defence sector.
The State still has stakes in Eni SpA and Enel SpA in the energy sector and in Finmeccanica SpA in the defence sector.
The document also confirms the State’s plan to continue to sell real estate.
Read MorePost & Parcel Magazine
Post & Parcel Magazine is our print publication, released 3 times a year. Packed with original content and thought-provoking features, Post & Parcel Magazine is a must-read for those who want the inside track on the industry.