Dubai: Emirates Post Group (EPG) announced yesterday that it will soon allow customers to purchase products such as greeting cards and stamps online and have them delivered to their doorstep.
Ebrahim Bin Karam, Chief Commercial Officer of the group, also announced the launch of a phone application featuring 18 postal e-services that will be available in June.
Bin Karam said 35 postal e-services will be featured on EPG’s website by June or August as part of the group’s second phase plan to roll out next–generation e-services.
“We have focused on the e-services that are most used by customers. These services, which include the trace and track, rate calculator and location maps for post offices will be included in the application,” he said.
Bin Karam also pointed out that six of the 18 services can already be accessed via EPG’s website.
The e-postal services will also include payment of third party invoices, allowing customers to view bills of Electricity and Water Authority of Dubai and Sharjah (Dewa and Sewa) and make payments electronically.
The second phase will see Emirates Post offering e-commerce services.
Bin Karam said a selected range of products will be featured on the website, and allow customers to order them online and have them delivered through the postal and courier network of EPG.
These e-commerce packages will include ‘E-greeting’ services, where one can select a greeting card, customise it and deliver it by mail to the recipient. Stamp collectors will also be able to purchase UAE stamps from wherever they are in the world and have them delivered at their doorstep. According to the EPG, these services will be available in the near future.
“We have been working with international companies to ensure the safety of customer’s information and to ensure that the services that we are providing are on a par with international standards,” he said.
Other new online services that will be introduced in the near future include applying for franking machine service online and registration for suppliers for the use of EPG.
Bin Karam said EPG aims to launch these services in line with the smart government initiative and to keep up with the rapid increase of smartphone users.
According to figures released by the UAE Telecom Regulatory Authority in December 2013, mobile phone penetration in the UAE stood at 181 per cent and smartphone penetration was 73.8 per cent, the highest in the world.
Earlier this year EPG rolled out the e-box service which allows subscribers to view their mailbox content online. The content disappears after 6 days of its delivery. According to EPG, 3,300 people check their e-box on average on a monthly basis.
Bin Karam said there are plans to offer e-box subscribers 2GB space to give them the option of storing important images and documents so that they can be accessed anywhere.
