Post offices eye credit union alliance

A new banking service could be provided through an alliance between An Post and credit unions.

Irish Postmasters’ Union general secretary Brian McGann said there is a need for a banking service that is grounded in the community and which would provide small-scale loans for personal customers and local businesses.

The future of the post office network was a key issue at the union’s annual conference, held in Tralee at the weekend, which heard that a range of services could be offered through 1,150 post offices countrywide.

These might include motor tax and driving licence renewals, Irish Water bill payments, rates, rents, and other local authority payments, lodgements and withdrawal services for credit unions, hospital charges, electronic form generation, insurance quotations, and pension savings.

Mr McGann said it is a misconception to think the post office is part of the old way of doing things. “The reality is that we have the most up-to-date technology available in every post office throughout the country and our systems have the capacity and flexibility to take on new business easily and quickly,’’ he said.

‘’A small post office in a remote location on the western seaboard can deliver the same services as can be delivered in the GPO. The network is an essential asset to support social and financial inclusion.”

Mr McGann said one cannot underestimate the contribution of the local post office to sustaining the social and economic life of communities, especially following closures of Garda stations, local businesses and banks.

“In many communities, the post office is the last light on in the main street. Now is the time to act so that the post office is not lost like so much of the community infrastructure that has already disappeared,’’ he said.

Concern about the future of the network follows a report by Grant Thornton which concluded that significant numbers of post offices nationwide would close by 2017.

Ciaran McEntee, the union’s president, said the social and community value of the network needs to be fully recognised by the cross-departmental working group on the future of post offices, which the Government announced last week.

The conference was told post offices serve 1.7m customers a week. ‘’That translates to an annual number of 88.4m customer transactions, which is greater than the combined annual total of Irish Rail and Luas customers,’’ Mr McEntee pointed out.

‘’We must accept that we cannot stop the tide of digital progress. Instead, we must embrace it and seek to be part of the future rather than desperately clinging to the past.”

The union recently make its case to Communications Minister Pat Rabbitte for a role in the banking sector.