2024-07-22 16:29:12
They purchase hardware for all stations for free administrative services
Even if a person lives in a village, he will receive goods ordered on the Internet. Delivery can be to the post office or to an address.
This is one of the new services of “Bulgarian Posts”, which are planning to enter the courier services market.
“Our intention is to serve a large part of electronic stores. We need a software upgrade so that the customer, after making the purchase, can track the shipment”, says Tsvetilia Stoilkova – executive director of “Bulgarian Post”, and adds that she considers the company a reliable supplier.
One of the oldest Bulgarian companies has a chance to modernize and open new services. On July 2, Brussels accepted the post office restructuring plan and recognized the BGN 50 million loaned by the state as eligible aid and allowed it to be recorded in the company’s capital.
Thus, the company can receive compensation from the state for providing a service of general economic interest. To put it simply, the state should pay for the tasks it has assigned to the post offices and from which they are losing money. These are the universal postal service, the payment of pensions, the provision of one-stop administrative services and a host of other services.
And here there are nuances. Until now, the state did not pay 100% of its compensations because the company delivers letters, parcels and for other activities within the scope of the universal postal service, as well as for the payment of pensions.
With a change in the pension regulation, at least for their payment at post offices throughout the country, the company will receive the full amount to cover expenses.
If the change in the Postal Services Act, which has been approved by the Council of Ministers and is in Parliament, also happens, the full cost of the universal postal service will also be covered.
Let us recall that “Bulgarian Post” has over 2,700 post offices in which
serve 5.6 million Bulgarians
The company is obliged with its network to provide services in settlements with a population of over 800 people.
For this year, the state budget has provided BGN 85 million to compensate “Bulgarian Post”.
Tsvetilia Stoilkova hopes that in the 2025 budget, the state will provide full payment for the company’s services.
This opens the possibility for the company, after covering the costs of its social activities, to simply do business.
The European Commission, by approving the restructuring plan, insists on optimizing the network, and the Minister of Transport, Georgi Gvozdeikov, wants exemption from loss-making activities.
The manager of the company Stoilkova says that he does not envisage closing post offices, but
in smaller settlements the services may be offered from mobile post offices
In order not to distort the market due to the state aid, the European Commission asks the company to provide access to the network of other operators. Stoilkova says that for a fee and under conditions that are beneficial to both parties, another operator can provide its parcels and letters, and the post office can deliver them. “And we currently have several such contracts. The so-called hybrid mail, companies that receive from municipalities information that is about taxes, fines and others, print it, put it in an envelope, and we have an obligation to carry it to the customer. We are obliged to provide postal services to every populated place, so other operators can use it”, she says.
Let’s recall that 100 million euros were provided for modernization in the recovery plan
of the post offices, but they were taken away after state funding was cut. But the desperate need to modernize the post offices to be competitive in the market remains.
With the outsourced one-stop administrative service at the finish line are public procurements to replace the hardware of all post offices.
“At the moment, 300 stations are providing the service, we are trying to do it with the available funds. When the equipment is bought, we hope, at the end of the year or at the beginning of the next one, to start gradually in the entire network”, says the head of the company. And he gives an example of one such service – he wants someone to post an application or a request for help – for heating for the winter, for example.
Instead of going to the city, wondering where and how to fill it, the post office will do it for him for free
In order to offer this quality service, the company invested BGN 9 million in equipment.
In the market of the universal postal service, “Bulgarian Post” is the leader, their share is over 90%. And with her there is an opportunity for growth. “We want to increase the contracts with state and private companies, and little by little this is yielding results and we have an increase in income,” says Stoilkova.
These are contracts with companies to deliver their notices to customers, for example monthly bills, as well as letters from government institutions.
The company’s managers set a goal of ending the year with a positive financial result of BGN 1.8 million, with a minus of BGN 32 million for 2023. For 2025 and 2026, profit is planned to increase.
Pilot from next year – a booth to contact a doctor
Post offices are also tasked with providing telemedicine services. This service and investment was actually recorded first in the recovery plan, it is clearly recognized permanently.
The idea is that in a small village, a person who needs a health consultation will go to the post office, and there will be a booth to connect with a doctor. He enters it and is put in touch with a GP to talk to.
The first pilot stations are expected to be operational next year. The post offices will supply the hardware part of the project, office, equipment, will engage an employee who has undergone training.
“We rely a lot on the Ministry of Health, because the work is joint. We expect them to be actively involved so that we can have pilot places at the beginning of next year. We will provide the cabins, but if the schedule and specialists are not provided, the service will not take place”, says Tsvetilia Stoilkova.
They will exchange levs for euros, lower the price for transfers
Exchange of levs into euros in the smallest settlements, when the European currency is accepted in our country. This task was last assigned to the post office by the government. The state operator must provide the service to 1.4 million people in 2,230 stations in settlements where there are no bank offices.
The company will exchange banknotes and coins from BGN to EUR free of charge at the official exchange rate in the amount of up to BGN 1,000 per day per person. For amounts from BGN 1,000 to BGN 10,000 per day, a prior request will be required, and only at certain post offices.
In connection with the provision of the new service, equipment will be provided to 2,275 workplaces in the post offices where the service will be provided, the government announced on Wednesday. Stoilkova clarifies that counting machines will be purchased, security and transportation of the money must be provided.
Currently, post offices offer money transfers, payment of household bills at post offices. From July 22 to August 22, the company reduces the prices of domestic transfers – express and ordinary – by about 5%.