2009-10 Annual Report - Australia Post

core Businesses aGenCY seRViCes & RetaiL MeRCHanDise
Financial and agency services
australia post performs an extensive range of financial and agency
services for 750 australian businesses and government bodies attracted
by our vast network of trusted retail outlets (including in areas where
services are otherwise limited). More than half the customers visiting our
outlets do so to access our bill payment, agency banking, money transfer
or identity services. During this financial year, around $77 billion in
payments and banking transactions were processed by the 3,289 outlets
with the technological capability to conduct these services.
financial and agency services revenue remained consistent with the
previous year.
Bill payments
During 2009–10, the trend away from over-the-counter bill payments
continued, resulting in a revenue decline of 6.7 per cent.
However, we continued to add new billers, bringing the total number
of postbillpay clients to more than 600. Billers large and small are drawn
to the security of postbillpay, as well as to australia post’s extensive
customer reach. in addition to our unrivalled physical network, we
also offer credit card payment by phone on 13 18 16 and via the
postbillpay.com.au website. a website redesign during the year has
made it easier for customers to pay their bills online.
identity services
australia post has strengthened its position as a trusted and accessible
provider of identity services. in 2009–10, we conducted 2.4 million
transactions with a revenue growth of 19.5 per cent.
Demand from governments and businesses for identity services
was stronger than expected in 2009–10, as volumes grew in existing
contracts and new contracts were acquired. significant activity
included the 1.5 million passport interviews conducted on behalf of
the Department of foreign affairs and trade, representing 93 per cent
of australian passport applications lodged in this country. the first full
financial year of processing British passport applications was also very
positive, with 70,000 interviews undertaken.
australia post further enhanced its market-leader position in identity
services with the successful pilot program of an end-to-end electronic
enrolment application process for the new south Wales Registry
of Births, Deaths and Marriages. the platform provides our agency
and business clients with a highly secure and efficient multi-channel
electronic enrolment and identity verification capability (see page 19).
Banking services
although there is a marked consumer trend towards online banking,
atMs and eftpos cash-out, clients seeking financial services continue
to be drawn to our extensive retail network. in many regional and
remote locations, australia post is one of the few remaining access
points for banking services and plays a critical role in these
communities. in addition to our extensive personal banking services,
we also offer business banking in more than 2,500 locations.
australia post provides a convenient in-person transaction banking
service for more than 75 financial institutions. in the past year, we have
extended the available services for several new clients, including naB,
tabCorp, inG Direct and anZ.
During 2009–10, australia post processed more than 23 million banking
transactions, including 2.7 million cheques with a value of $4.7 billion.
20 AustrAliA Post AnnuAl rePort 2009–10 | RepoRt of opeRations
Money transfer services
australia post offers numerous money transfer services, including
domestic money orders, cash dispersals on behalf of government
agencies and cards such as prepaid and reloadable Visa cards.
While we experienced a decline in domestic money order transactions
this year, our highly successful partnership with Western Union for
international money transfer services achieved a volume growth of
19 per cent.
successful partnerships with american express for foreign currency and
travelex for Cash passports also saw an increase in our market share
for travel money. Joint promotion, convenient customer access and
competitively priced products drove our above-market growth this year.
insurance
in august 2009, we added to our suite of offerings when car insurance
was introduced. the performance of the product and rate of take-up
have exceeded expectations.
Retail merchandise
Retail merchandise revenue fell by 4.1 per cent in 2009–10. this was
due partly to subdued consumer confidence and partly to the fact that
declining mail volumes, bill payments and banking transactions reduced
overall foot traffic to our outlets. the purchase of retail merchandise
products (including mobile phones, gifts, greeting cards and office
products) is primarily a matter of impulse or convenience.
nevertheless, there were numerous positive results, including:
• the sale of our two-millionth gift card and the addition
of Myer gift cards to the range
• the strong performance of gifts, including books, particularly
leading up to Christmas
• the growth in sales of technology products, such as UsB sticks,
and a positive trial of the tech Direct model, which saw technology
products delivered directly to customers
• higher mobile phone sales, driven by the roll-out of new display
cabinets to selected stores
• expanded use of our sai Cheng logistics capability to package
and distribute products directly to outlets, which streamlined
logistics and lowered costs.
a smart-phone application was developed during the year, which
offered services such as bill payment and a post office locator when
it was released in July 2010. additional services will be added to
the application over time.
our philatelic program
the philatelic Group produces postage stamps and other products
for stamp enthusiasts and memorabilia collectors. the strength of
our traditional stamp program has in recent times been augmented
by continued growth in licensed collectables, which attract customers
outside the philatelic market. Licensing partners include the afL and
nRL, and we also work with the Royal australian and perth mints
to produce complementary stamp and coin collectables, including
innovative stamp coins.
this was the first full financial year in which products were available
for purchase online via our stamps.com.au website, which we
continued to upgrade.