2004-05 Annual Report - Australia Post

ill-payment service for Western
QBE Insurance, a division of QBE
Insurance (Australia) Limited
group, and we will offer a similar
service for more companies over
the coming year.
We are also defending our
position in bill payment by
encouraging our bill-payment
partners to adopt Billmanager,
our household bill management
service. Seventy bill-payment
partners currently offer
Billmanager and we expect
the service’s popularity and
reach to grow in 2005–06.
Banking
Our agency banking service,
giroPost, enables customers
of 77 financial institutions to
conduct their day-to-day banking
transactions at 3,078 Post outlets
around Australia. Depending on
the financial institution, customers
can make deposits, withdrawals
and credit card payments, and
check their account balances.
Customers can also complete the
100-point identification checks
required to support the opening
of new bank or credit card
accounts.
Transaction volumes decreased
by 1.6 per cent this year to 31
million, reflecting the impact of
electronic substitution on overthe-counter
banking.
We expanded access to our
business banking services, with
882 Post outlets now offering this
service (compared with 612 last
year). Of these, 575 are in rural
and regional areas. Transaction
volumes for business banking
increased by 7.8 per cent during
the year. There are currently
five banks and one credit union
offering business banking via
Post and we expect more banks
to begin offering the service
in 2005–06.
In September 2004, the Federal
Government committed to
funding the connection of
266 smaller rural and remote
outlets to our on-line banking
network. Under phase one of
the Bank@Post program, the
first 20 outlets were connected
by 30 June 2005. The remaining
outlets will be connected by the
end of 2006. When this project
is complete, more than 3,300
Post outlets will be electronically
connected in real time via Post’s
point-of-sale counter system.
Money transfer services
We are increasingly recognised as
a convenient destination for the
Western Union Money Transfer ®
service, with transaction volumes
for the service increasing by over
50 per cent this year. Growth in
Western Union Money Transfers
more than compensated for
the 2.7 per cent decline in the
volume of traditional domestic
money order transactions that
we handled.
Travellers’ cheques
The introduction of a commissionfree
policy for the sale of
American Express ® Travellers
Cheques in June 2004 was the
main factor contributing to the
doubling of transaction volumes
this year. Improved promotion
of the availability of the service
at Post outlets also contributed
to this phenomenal growth
in volumes.
Personal identification
services
Our reputation as a convenient
and trusted third party has been
vital in positioning our business
to handle an increasing range of
personal identification services.
The number of passport
interviews we conducted on
behalf of the Department
of Foreign Affairs and Trade
increased by 15.3 per cent this
year – to a total of 1.03 million.
We also trebled the number of
100-point identification checks
we conducted on behalf of
credit card issuers and financial
institutions, mainly as a result of
signing more financial institutions
to offer this agency service via our
retail network.
In South Australia, we
implemented a photocard service
which enables the acceptance
and renewal of licence
applications at selected Post
outlets. The development work
for this initiative has strengthened
our capability in the production
of personal identity cards, so we
are now in a position to offer this
service more broadly.
“The effort to get the gold medallists
stamps into post offices around Australia
within 48 hours of the presentation
ceremony requires an effort almost as
magical as that of the athletes themselves.”
– 7.30 Report, ABC Television, 25 August 2004
(Reporter: Mick Bunworth)
(For more information on Gold Medallists stamps, see p. 25.)
Australia Post Annual Report 2004/05 Report of Operations
Retail and agency services
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