Online postal services find success as strikes roll on

29/10/2009 UK-wide - With a fresh wave of postal strikes hitting the United Kingdom this week, alternative postal services may be the only winners in a worsening situation. Customers have many options for sending parcels or Christmas gifts and with a new eco-friendly online postal service launching today, they now have a way to send letters as well.

iSecurePost, a division of the market leading Online Post Office, UK Postbox, launches today in a bid to fill the gap left by striking postal workers.

The unique, reliable system allows customers to upload and send their letters securely online, via the iSecurePost server with no paper, printing or postage. Recipients receive the letters online, with the option of viewing or printing if they wish.

Allan Chester, owner of UK Postbox, said: "The recent strikes have confirmed the need for a paperless system that does not rely on Royal Mail or have the fallibility of email. With the launch of iSecurePost, customers will finally be able to send and receive postal mail entirely online - cutting down on postage costs and environmental impact, without compromising on security or peace of mind. The system protects against identity theft and spam mail."

iSecurePost can be found online at ukpostbox.com/isecurepost.html


Notes for Editors:

1. How iSecurePost works:
When a UK Postbox customer clicks to send a letter, s/he is presented with the choice of either sending the letter via iSecurePost or through Royal Mail. If s/he chooses iSecurePost, the customer will then upload the letter to a secure server and then complete a form which requests the recipients' pertinent information:

Company name (if known)
Surname
Postcode
Email address

S/he then press 'send' and an email is sent to the recipients email address, advising them that they have received an iSecureLetter from the sender. The sender's name and postcode will be displayed for the recipient to view. The recipient can login into the iSecurePost server using their Surname, Postcode {extracted from the senders account} to view or download the letter. When the letter has been viewed or downloaded a notification appears in the senders account to confirm that the letter they sent has been received.Customers may want to use this service to send regular communications with family and friends. It is especially useful for business mailings - such as marketing mailings, and invoices, pay slips, quotations and other business letters.

2. What is it and how is it different to email?
iSecurePost is the first practical, paperless alternative to traditional postal systems - it does not rely on Royal Mail.

Customers using iSecurePost will save money on printing, paper and postage costs, whilst reducing their environmental impact and overcoming the annoyances of postal delays, strikes and other problems.

This paperless postal system is handled entirely online, and will change the way we view our postal mail forever.

Sending an email is not secure, as emails are open to most security risks - even sending a PDF file can leave a person open for identity fraud. Many companies send PDF files via email, containing sensitive information without any regard to their and the recipient's security.

3. Who developed this service?

iPostalMail, the platform and engine driving the very successful company, UK Postbox, has developed iSecurePost, a web-based secure platform for the delivery of paperless mail.

4. How much does it cost to use iSecurePost?
{amount per month}

1 to 100: 13p per letter
101-500: 11p per letter
501+: 8p per letter

5. What are the benefits of this service?

Items are received in real time, which is beneficial for personal and business customers. It is convenient, like email, but without the fallibility.
Customers do not pay extra fees for 1st/2nd class delivery or special delivery. Each communication is sent with the same priority - quickly and through iSecurePost's protected server.

There is no restriction on size or weight: for example, a business might want to send out their annual report to their employees. To mail this through traditional post would be extremely expensive. To mail it through iSecurePost would cost the same as any other letter.

The iSecurePost system allows companies to show their customers that they are committed to safeguarding their personal information, and allows businesses to transfer documents without a risk of their competitors obtaining their information.

Business customers can include marketing links - such as links to their special offers, sign-up pages for newsletters, links to Twitter and other Social Media pages and more.

Customers can feel comfortable with what they are doing for the environment - as they reduce printing, postage and the use of paper.

Under this system, it is impossible for items to be 'lost' - they will be not be left on the pavement, misplaced by workers or sent to the 'wrong' address. Instead, they will be handled securely through the iSecurePost server, arriving in real time, and notifying the sender that they've reached their destination. Furthermore, customers do not have to pay extra to be notified that their recipient has received their mail - this built-in 'tracking' is included in the cost of postage.

Recipients do not need a UKPostBox account to benefit, they are simply asked to log into a web portal to retrieve their iSecureletter.