In response to changing customer needs and its ongoing modernization plans, Swiss Post will be able to offer customers the option of sending and receiving letters digitally.
The service will be enabled by a proposed amendment to the Swiss Postal Services Ordinance (universal service obligation) that will allow a hybrid delivery system for mail items.
“Swiss Post is continuing to modernize its products and services to make everyday life easier for customers,” said Swiss Post’s interim CEO, Alex Glanzmann. “It’s important that the public service can also take account of these developments. The Federal Council’s plan to anchor the hybrid letter in the [universal service] mandate is an important step toward a modern universal postal service that can meet the needs of today’s customers.”
Under the new service, Swiss Post will use its expertise, within the scope of the amendment consultation procedure, to safeguard letters in the digital space, from posting through to delivery and receipt.
“If a customer sends a letter by post in the future, they will have the option of sending it digitally. In this case, the recipient can then decide whether to receive the consignment physically or digitally,” explained Nicole Burth, member of executive management and head of the digital services unit.
“It means customers will be free to choose. We firmly believe that the hybrid letter is the right path for Switzerland and for modernizing the universal postal service obligation.”
Hybrid letter in the universal service
The hybrid letter option offers various advantages, according to Swiss Post. Thanks to a regulated seal, the recipient will know that the letter is genuine and unaltered, and the qualified time stamp will provide proof of the acceptance time to increase legal certainty. The hybrid letter also offers enhanced confirmation of retrieval.
The proposed change will make things simpler for senders. Those wishing to send a letter to a postal address will be able to do so digitally and, depending on the recipient’s preference, Swiss Post will then deliver the letter to a physical or digital letter box. For business customers, the hybrid system will also offer an additional advantage – customers will be able to send and receive letters digitally, directly from their existing business software.
The proposed amendment to its universal service obligation will enable Swiss Post to address the current importance of digital communication.
Further changes to the USO
As part of the consultation procedure, the Federal Council is also proposing to standardize delivery punctuality (delivery times) of letters and newspapers and parcels at 90%, a reduction, and Swiss Post has said it “welcomes this proposal”.
The new requirements would, for example, enable greater flexibility and logistical planning in the case of exceptional events, such as train cancellations or tunnel blockages, and Swiss Post could align its capacities more closely to those of normal operations. This would, in turn, have a positive effect on the company’s self-sustainability until the comprehensive revision of the law.
In addition, it is also proposed that delivery will be made to all settlements inhabited all year round instead of to all homes inhabited all year round, as it is today. Around 2% of all Swiss households would be affected by this change – these customers would receive alternative delivery solutions. The changeover would be implemented over a period of 10 years. Swiss Post said it welcomes this proposed change as it would significantly increase delivery efficiency.
The proposed amendment also provides for an expansion of the universal service in digital payment transactions. Today’s payment transactions market is highly digitized – and the Swiss population has comprehensive access – and this equally applies to online payment methods. PostFinance already offers its customers e-finance and the PF app as well as a debit card for online purchases.
Swiss Post confirmed it will publish its detailed response to the bill submitted for consultation after an in-depth examination, but has stated it still needs a fundamental political discussion about a modern universal service obligation from 2030.
Discover more about how the universal service obligation is changing in the March 2024 issue of Parcel and Postal Technology International.
