The nation’s first automated post office is to open in Taipei next month, Chunghwa Post said yesterday at a ceremony celebrating the company’s 122nd anniversary.
Chunghwa Post chairman Wang Kwo-tsai (王國材) said that the company needs to change its business model to face future challenges, such as the decline of mail delivery services and the rise of cross-border e-commerce.
The company is to focus on three services to ensure its sustainable development: “smart” logistics, digital finance and long-term elderly care services, he said.
The Jinnan Post Office (金南郵局) on Aiguo E Road in Taipei is to be the nation’s first autonomous branch on a trial basis, Wang said, adding that more unstaffed offices would be opened if the Jinnan branch is successful.
Autonomous post offices would be opened in places with lower populations, he said, adding that they could open around the clock.
The offices would be equipped with automated kiosks that allow people to access postal services, such as posting mail or packages and accessing banking services, Wang said.
Chunghwa Post bank account holders are soon to have access to electronic payment services, which it has dubbed Account Link, the company said.
To activate the service, users have to provide their account numbers to the electronic payment platforms they want to use, such as Apple Pay, it said.
Users would then have to authorize the platform to withdraw funds from their bank account when making a purchase, it added.
The company has signed contracts with E.Sun Financial Holding Co and ezPay Taiwan Co, Chunghwa Post said, adding that it is negotiating terms with EasyCard Corp, iPass Corp, Taiwan Pay, JKO Pay, Gama Pay and AllPay Financial Information Service Co.
The service is to be made available to Chunghwa Post savings account holders at the end of this month or the beginning of next month, it said.
The service is in line with the government’s policy of increasing electronic payment services and reducing the use of cash, it added.
The Financial Supervisory Commission in 2016 announced a goal of making 52 percent of the nation’s transactions electronic by 2020.
Chunghwa Post said it would establish an online sales service at its Minsheng Post Office (民生郵局) in Taipei in the second quarter of this year, which would combine the company’s online shopping portal, Post Mall, with electronic payments and a delivery service.
People would be able to buy items at a machine in the Minsheng post office using Taiwan Pay and collect their purchases at post offices or have them delivered, it said.
Chunghwa Post in January launched a new home page and an online automated teller machine service, which include a larger font, to better serve disabled people, it said.
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