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Emirates Post launches e-PO Box service Staff Reporter / 5 February 2014 Users can now see the envelopes of incoming mails lying in their post boxes on their mobile phones. Emirates Post’s PO Box users can now see the envelopes of incoming mails lying in their post boxes on their mobile phones, thanks to a new mobile service launched by the company. The e-PO Box service, which allows users to see which all mails have arrived before physically visiting their post boxes, is available on mobile devices from February 3, said Ibrahim bin Karam, chief commercial officer, Emirates Post Group (EPG). “If your post box is in Karama post office and you need to know if at all any mails have landed or if there is any important mail that you need to collect urgently, you can check it on your mobile before visiting the post office,” he told Khaleej Times . All the envelopes are generally scanned by the mail-sorting machines. These scanned images are now supplied to the users, he explained. Other e-services made available on mobile devices include track and trace; location maps for post offices; submitting customer enquiries, complaints and suggestions; complaint tracking and rate calculator. Bin Karam said in a press statement that the project is inspired by the UAE government’s Smart Government initiative, as mobile phone penetration in the UAE is among the highest in the world. The next phase of the m-Services project will see Emirates Post venturing into e-commerce by the last quarter of this year. “We see immense potential for e-commerce as Emirates Post Group boasts a world-class mailing and delivery system,” said Bin Karam. Under the e-commerce venture, he said, the company is introducing a new concept of e-greeting, in which an online greeting card will be converted into a physical card and delivered by mail to the recipient. This service will allow users to select and customise e-greeting cards, which will then be printed by Emirates Post and delivered. Such cards can be delivered locally and internationally. Another service, e-stamps, will enable people to place orders for UAE stamps from any part of the world, and have them delivered to their doorstep after making payment online using credit cards. This service is expected to attract the interest of stamp collectors in a big way. Additionally, Bin Karam said a selected range of electronic products, flowers and other items would be listed on the website, and customers will be able to order them online and have them delivered through the postal and courier network of Emirates Post Group. “We are currently short-listing suppliers for the e-commerce project. We will keep adding new categories to the catalogue as time goes by and expand the product range, depending on demand,” he added. Emirates Post’s foray into Smart Government services is in keeping with the rapid increase in users of mobile devices and smart phones in the UAE. The m-Services are also offered in line with the government’s Smart City project in Dubai. According to figures released by the Telecommunication Regulatory Authority (TRA) in December 2013, mobile-phone penetration in the UAE stood at 181 per cent and smart phone penetration was 73.8 per cent, the highest in the world. sajila@khaleejtimes.com For more news from Khaleej Times, follow us on Facebook at facebook.com/khaleejtimes , and on Twitter at @khaleejtimes Taylor Scott International
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