Tag: Mail Services

New Zealand Post launches another card first

Posted by | Mar 26, 2008 | |

From Thursday 6 March 2008 New Zealand Post and Visa International will be launching “Loaded”, the country’s first general-purpose reloadable prepaid Visa card.

The card offers a new payment option to consumers looking for the functionality and acceptance of a credit card along with the sensible spending habits offered by prepaid. It works in the same way as a prepaid mobile phone – you load funds on the card before you spend.

Loaded is easy to get. It isn’t attached to a bank account and anyone over the age of 13 is able to apply for a card.

Terese Tunnicliffe, New Zealand Post’s Payment Services General Manager says “we believe Loaded will appeal to a broad range of people because of the freedom and control it offers over other card types”.

“Loaded is the ideal card for people who are either too young or don’t qualify for a credit card or those people who want added control over their spending. It not only makes online shopping more accessible for New Zealanders but will appeal to those who want to shop online securely and within their means”.

“Knowing the card will have a widespread appeal, we’ve made Loaded as flexible and user-friendly as possible, but at the same time we have also taken a responsible approach and included several safeguards” says Ms Tunnicliffe.

One such safeguard is based on age. When a customer applies for a card, their age will determine whether they receive an over 18 account or an under 18 account. The under 18 card can not be used at bottle shops, bars or to purchase adult orientated services. A customer who is 18 or over can also elect to have an under 18 account if they want the restrictions built into the under 18 card account to apply to their card (e.g. if they want a second card for a teenage relative to use).

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Russian Post represented mid-term development program

Posted by | Mar 25, 2008 | |

Russian Post represented the enterprise mid-term development program at the Session of the Collegium of the Ministry of Communications and Information Technologies of the RF headed by L.D. Reiman, Minister for Communications and Information Technologies of the RF held on March, 25, 2008.

As the Minister noted, present postal structure, development and quality of services don’t meet requirements of modern economy and society, it should be considerably modernized. Post should immediately find solutions to such problem as renovation, unified process, postal employees social status.

A.I. Kazmin, Russian Post Director General represented complex of anti-crisis measures and medium-term enterprise modernization program for the period till 2011. The program already implemented in Russian Post aims at providing break even of the enterprise profits, establishing and supporting main production processes. Expenses optimization and efficient management system are among the prior measures taken by new heads of the enterprise. Post is to improve information system security, continuation of business-processes, reduce operation, technology and reputation risks. Quality improvement of services, delivery speed and security of mails is one of the key Russian Post’s goals.

Postal infrastructure modernization program will be held till 2011. It stipulates for capitalization of the enterprise at the expense of state investment support. It helps to reconstruct and provide technique equip for post offices, renovate transport and improve logistics, develop banking services infrastructure and other.

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eBay requires specified shipping

Posted by | Mar 25, 2008 | |

eBay posted an update about shipping policies and features on its Announcement Board on Monday. Beginning this week, eBay will begin requiring that all new sellers who are listing for the first time specify their shipping costs using the Shipping Details section. A few months from now, specified shipping costs will become a requirement for most listings on eBay, including listings from third-party listing tools. (Exemptions will apply to certain categories like Vehicles, or services such as Freight.)

eBay’s shipping calculator supports only certain USPS and UPS services. eBay spokesperson Usher Lieberman said, “For sellers who prefer to use shipping services or carriers not included in eBay’s calculator, they can specify “Standard Flat Rate Service”, “Expedited Flat Rate Service”, “Overnight Flat Rate” or “Other (see description)” in their listing and set a flat rate cost. This is something many sellers do already.” However, FedEx and DHL are not flat-rate services, so sellers who use such major carriers are forced to either select flat-rate shipping or select UPS (http://pages.ebay.com/help/sell/shipping-options.html).

eBay also said Best Match would begin taking into consideration how the shipping cost for an item compares to other items in the same sub-category, and also whether the shipping price is specified. “Items with shipping costs significantly above the average cost for other items in the same sub-category may receive less exposure,” according to the announcement.

One seller writing on eBay’s discussion boards about the policy said, “items in the same sub-category can still be very, very different and have very different packing needs, and shipping weight. This stuff is ridiculous and best of all – will punish the larger size and fragile items of each subcategory. Not for gouging, but just for being big and delicate” (http://forums.ebay.com/db2/thread.jspa?threadID=1000671785).

eBay said the new USPS Priority Mail Large Flat Rate box is now included in the eBay Shipping calculator, but sellers on the AuctionBytes Blog wondered why the new box won’t be incorporated into the PayPal shipping labels solution until later in the summer.

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KiwiBank Boosts Post Group Half Year Result

Posted by | Mar 25, 2008 | |

The New Zealand Post Group performed well in the six months to 31 December 2007, and has reported a net profit after tax of $52.9 million, says Group Chief Executive John Allen. “Taking account of new International Financial Reporting Standards, we have made a $4.5 million improvement – an increase of over nine per cent on the previous half year result. ”

Our result shows the benefits of our diversification strategy, with positive performances by Datamail, Postal Services and Express Couriers. Kiwibank contributed $22.7 million to our half year result.

“The past period has been exciting for us. The local government elections showed the power of the New Zealand Post Group at producing and delivering mail items. Our Value of Mail campaign has tugged at the nation’s heartstrings and reinforces the power of mail as a communications tool. We’ve also opened two new sustainably designed mail centres in Auckland and Christchurch.

“Over the period, Kiwibank has continued to grow. It’s seen a 55 per cent increase in lending, and a 30 per cent increase in retail deposits. It’s also won two awards for its new mobile banking service, and the Marsh Most Improved Performance award in the Deloitte Top 200 awards”.

John Allen says that, overall, he’s pleased with the performance of the Group, given that all parts of the business operate in highly competitive markets. “Typically, we record our strongest performance in the first six months of the year. I expect that this trend will continue and that the six months ahead will be challenging, although our diversification strategy positions us well.”

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Allianz seen as favourite to buy Deutsche Postbank

Posted by | Mar 25, 2008 | |

Allianz SE is favoured by Deutsche Post AG and parts of the German government in the tussle over buying Deutsche Postbank AG, Handelsblatt reported, citing banking sources and unidentified members of Postbank’s supervisory board.

The German finance ministry had until a few weeks ago preferred Commerbank AG among Postbank’s suitors but Commerzbank’s ability to shoulder the acquisitions was called into question because the bank’s market value was sapped by financial-market turbulence, the newspaper said, citing unspecified sources.

Deutsche Bank AG has also expressed interest in Postbank, Handelsblatt said.

Handelsblatt said that Allianz’s recently announced plans to split up its Dresdner Bank unit into an investment banking and a private/corporate clients entity is seen by banking experts as a preparatory step for taking over Postbank.

Deutsche Post, Deutsche Postbank, Allianz and Dredner all declined to comment, the newspaper said.

Postbank is controlled by Deutsche Post, whose largest single shareholder is the German government, which owns 31 pct of Post through its development bank KfW Bankengruppe.

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