LAHORE: Pakistan Post has recently initiated new financial services including ‘same-day delivery’, ‘electronic money order’, ‘postal rest houses’, ‘Pakistan foreign remittances’ and launching of ‘postal mobile application’ to overcome its previous losses.
“Under e-commerce initiative, Pakistan Post also offers partnership opportunities to online shopping portals and stores,” adding that “they are invited to leverage Post’s unmatched country-wide infrastructure, delivery and logistics network, seamless counter operations, time tested payment system and collect and return services to get their products order and deliver in all cities, towns and virtually 80,000 villages”, an official of Pakistan Post told APP on Friday.
A senior official of Pakistan Post has claimed that an increase in allowances and pension benefits is a major contributor towards the widening gap between expenditure and revenue of the department.
In a recent meeting of Senate Standing Committee on Postal Services, the official said that Finance Division has decreased the rate of Post Office Commission in Saving Bank Scheme from 1.56 per cent to 0.50 per cent in October 2010 which has reduced Agency receipt of the department.
He said around 80 per cent of the total budget goes to pays and pensions which implies only 20 per cent for operating expenses, physical assets and for repair and maintenance.
Private couriers have won the vast majority of the ecommerce merchants’ business. I don’t know of any merchant that relies on Pak post. Daraz has gone as far as acquiring its own courier company in order to ensure timely delivery and payments.