IPU: An Post can fill role of banks

THE Government should give the country’s 1,100 post offices a key role in the shakeup of the banks, the country’s postmasters have said.

The Irish Postmasters’ Union (IPU) general secretary, Brian McGann, said post offices are already extensively engaged in providing banking transactions for AIB and NIB.

In the current overhaul of the banks “there is a role for An Post in that scenario given its extensive retail network”.

Such a move is a means “of ensuring people across the country can have ease of access to a better range of financial services”, he said.

Given the changes taking place, Mr McGann said the banks will be “under pressure in non-urban areas” and the post office network can provide the answers to that dilemma.

He said such a move “gives coverage to communities across the country and makes sense from both a social and economic perspective”.

“With a network of 1,100 fully automated post offices, the opportunity to provide the public with access to banking transaction services across the length and breadth of the country is unique,” he said.

The post office network is greater than the 900 branches held by AIB, BoI, NIB, TSB and Ulster Bank combined.

This means that post offices would have the greatest capacity of any provider in the country to deliver financial services.

Currently, post offices provide lodgements and withdrawals for AIB, and NIB through its outlets.

Such services could be extended in other ways and enhance the role of the sector to give rural communities access a greater range of financial services, Mr McGann said.

Post offices could also help thousands of motorists pay their car tax though the network. Just 40% pay their tax online and he claimed that post offices have the technology to provide that service to the other 60% who are not using the online service.

“We have the ability to adopt our technology to link in with the system in Shannon,” he said.

It is clear there are gaps that the post office sector can fill if given the opportunity and the benefits could be far reaching, he said.

“Over recent years, the post office network has proved extremely effective at providing customers with a combination of services in one location, such as the provision of bill pay facilities to customers in receipt of social welfare payments. There is no reason why local post offices can’t provide a whole variety of services,” Mr McGann said.