Digitizing Pakistan Post Banking Sector

In this blog I will be talking about digitizing Pakistan Post specifically the banking sector or it. Pakistan Post is Pakistan’s largest postal operator. It is a state institute that operates in full range of delivery and logistics services to customers countrywide.

• In addition to its traditional role, Pakistan Post also offers vast range of services such as
  • Postal Life Insurance
  • Pakistan Post Savings Bank
  • Utility bills
  • taxes and customs duty collection
  • pension payments

Recently the enterprise has also stepped into the e-commerce business. This study is focused on finding opportunities to apply current technological developments in the postal market and assesses the potential future impact of various technologies and innovations on the market. We studied explicitly two major domains of the post office, the role of Pakistan Post Savings Bank and its postal service operations. How is it delivering banking and postal services to the customers? The purpose is to understand the current work stack of operations of Pakistan Post as savings bank and as logistics operator and find opportunities to improve the system with the application of state of the art technologies.

There is limited literature available on the subject specially related to Pakistan Post. However, we studied researches and papers on the subject for international markets, modern technologies being applied there, how they achieve operational efficiency in their processes and what we can take away as a learning point. For the above-mentioned purposes, we studied and analyzed the following:

Technology and change in postal services – impact on consumers

The study was conducted by WIK-Consult and ITA Consulting on behalf of Citizens Advice between September and November 2015, using a mix of desk research, expert interviews and own analysis. Our findings are based on extensive research and literature review, validated during interviews with 15 delivery companies, stakeholders, and experts based on a Questionnaire

The study talks about what factors are driving technology in the postal market. It claims e- Commerce is a key driver for postal services. Then it suggests a list of modern technologies that are currently being applied or will be applied in future to transform postal industry completely.

The Role of Postal Networks in Expanding Access to Financial Services

This research discusses widespread consensus that postal networks could play a much more active role in providing access to financial services, especially to unbanked poor and rural communities. It appears to have been difficult to convert ideas and consensus into practice. In several countries, including South Africa, repositioning the postal bank has been under discussion for more than 10 years without conclusion. In some other countries, steps have been taken to separate the postal bank into an independent company, operating through the postal service. The research has been conducted on African postal market. The research is conducted by a well-known European bank ING in collaboration with World Bank.

The digital economy and digital postal activities – a global panorama

Another very detailed yet comprehensive document on digital postal activities is circulated by UPU (Universal Postal Union). The document talks about the sustainable development goals of digital postal services, their technical and strategic analysis, policy making and regulations in postal sector and recommends governments develop appropriate postal sector policies that are aligned with digital and other policies.

ICTs, new services and transformation of the Post

This is very detailed and extensive documentation on the subject of transformation of the post. It covers multiple successful business and technology models in the postal sector being applied in Bhutan, Brazil, Korea, Russia and some other international markets. Since the study is quite exhaustive, it covers every stretch starting from the context, environment and working conditions to the application of certain methods and tech in the corresponding country. The study reasons about whether it would be possible to take the modern information and communication technologies to people with virtually no exposure to these technologies owing to the formidable logistical difficulties on the ground.

National launch of Post Office Savings Bank ATM and Core Banking-Postal Life Insurance

This article announces the new initiative under-taken by Post office India, with the title, Core Banking Solution. An extract from article; “Core Banking Solution (CBS) will enable customers to operate their accounts and avail account related services from any post office in the country. ‘Anywhere Anytime Banking’, Net-banking, RTGS, NEFT shall be available for the Post office customer. The objective of CBS is to provide faster and easier banking services through internet, mobile devices and ATMs”

The Impact of Technology on Postal Services In Ghana

The research talks about the implications of modern technology on postal services in Ghana. It Statistically tests three hypotheses:

1. The birth of the internet has a negative effect on postal services (2)
2. Organizational efficiency and productivity have increased as a result of technology and (3)
3. Technology has given rise to innovative products and services in Ghana Post
   According to a research paper
   
   “The population for the study consists of all staff members of Ghana Post. Since the study is about the Ghana Postal system, the Head Office which is situated in Accra is use as the main case study. This is justified by the fact that, all the other branches does the same postal operations as the Head Office. The total number of staff nationwide is thousand seven hundred. The total number of staff at the Head Office is three hundred and seventy two. The main instrument used is the questionnaire. The entire population at the Head Office was used in the research since the researcher wanted to generalize the findings. Copies of the questionnaire were given to all the staff members and were given one week to return to the researcher. Two hundred copies of the questionnaire were received fully completed, representing a return rate of 53.7%. The copies of questionnaire received were coded and entered into the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) for analysis. The results were presented in tables and charts and hypotheses were also tested”

Data Processing and Technological Change: The Post Office Savings Bank, 1861-1930

A lengthy yet an interesting read about the history of book keeping operations in the British Established Post Office Savings Bank (POSB). The research answers the question, why was POSB so slow to mechanize and adopt modern ways instead of insisting on the orthodox methods of record keeping. It also shines some light on why was POSB established in the first place.