Alternatives to post offices

Swiss Post in village shops or on the doorstep

As alternatives to under-used post offices, there are two main models which have been tried and tested over many years:  agencies and the home delivery service.

Agencies

The principle behind agencies is that of “the village shop post office”. Swiss Post works together with independent partners who conduct postal business on its behalf. These partners are primarily retailers, but also include municipalities, tourist offices and railways.

They provide almost all the services requested daily in conventional post offices. Customers can use self-service scales when handing in their letters and parcels. They can also collect post and buy stamps. A PostFinance Card is needed to withdraw cash and make cashless deposits. However, since February 2010, bank Maestro cards are also accepted as methods of payment. An additional key point is long opening hours.

There are currently 323 agencies (as at 31 August 2010).

Home delivery service

The home delivery service involves transferring the post office counter to the customer’s doorstep. Anyone requiring postal services places a small sign on their letter box. These signs are available from Swiss Post. The postman then rings the door bell on his next delivery round, and asks what service is required.

This enables customers to benefit from a wide range of services while still wearing their slippers – for example paying bills or posting letters and parcels. By prior arrangement, customers can also buy stamps and withdraw cash from their personal postal accounts. If a customer is not in, registered deliveries can be stored at a neighbouring post office for collection. However, Swiss Post will also make a subsequent visit to deliver such items free of charge, or pass them to a suitably authorized third party.

The home delivery service is currently available at 1,181 locations (as at 31 August 2010).