Pakistan Post has incurred a huge economic loss due to the suspension of its operations in the wake of Covid19. The operations have been suspended between America, Europe and other countries leading to the termination of Pakistan’s Post’s international operations and Pension.
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The deficit of the institution ‘Saving Schemes’ has reached Rs 60 million owing to the 10 percent loss in yearly earnings. The income for the five months of the fiscal year of 2020-2021 has come down to Rs 3.7 billion from Rs 4.2 billion for Pakistan Post. Covid19 has severely affected the international movement of goods and people as countries have implemented additional border controls and placed restrictions on International travel. As a result, airlines have reduced international services which has led to a significant reduction in air freight capacity. Pakistan Post’s international mailing services have also come to a halt because of which it has incurred a huge economic loss. It also suffered a setback due to the termination of domestic operations such as pension, utility bills and saving schemes. Overall, it faced a 10% loss in earning for the current fiscal year.
Pakistan Post Launches New Services
Recently, Pakistan Post moved up by 27 places from 94th to 67th position in the Universal Postal Union (the global organization of postal services) World Rankings 2020. The ranking is based on best service, confidence over service quality, reach, hard work and dedication. Back in 2016, Pakistan Post was on the 94th spot with 29 points. Though it may have suffered an economic loss due to the pandemic but it’s not going to be held back as it has now introduced the e-commerce facility with different options including delivery partner, sale through postal counter, collect and return service and co-branded partner. These new initiatives were introduced by the Ministry of Communications and Postal Services, headed by Murad Saeed, in the view of the growing e-commerce market in the country to further strengthen the financial services of the department and meet the modern needs of its customers. A Pakistan Post official said that many international web portal operators have shown their interest to enter into the Pakistani market with Pakistan Post as their delivery partner. Its is important to mention here that E-commerce is growing steadily in the country with the size of more than Rs.100 billion. This industry is registering a healthy year on year growth of more than 90 percent. Moreover, with a population of 220 million and several financial inclusion solutions, Pakistan is one of the largest markets of e-commerce in the world.
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Urgent Money Order (UMO) service by Pakistan Post has recently gained prominence for being an affordable solution for citizens who need to transfer money across the country. This service was launched with the aim to facilitate the people working in the big cities who have to transfer money back home to their families every now and then. Earlier, the payment of high commission on a low amount was causing difficulties for such people. A Pakistan Post official described this service as being fast, efficient and secure. Currently, it’s being considered as the ideal solution for the general public who have to send money to their loved ones living in remote and far-flung areas at a cheaper cost. So, even though Pakistan Post may have incurred a huge economic loss due to Covid19, it still hasn’t stopped working on improving its services under the leadership of Murad Saeed.