UPU member countries will decide on the expansion of the Postal Payments Services Agreement to diversify and develop the postal network’s financial services offering during the 28th Universal Postal Congress in Dubai this September.
The capillarity of the postal network – reaching rural and remote areas – has made designated postal operators strong partners in the push to bridge financial inclusion gaps for excluded groups. According to UPU research, 1.2 billion people hold a total of 2.38 billion postal accounts worldwide, with 90% of posts offering financial services.While the UPU has long advocated the postal network’s potential to help provide access to financial services to the remaining 1.4 billion unbanked people, its formal work on financial inclusion has been limited to postal payments services and accounts under its multilateral framework, the Postal Payment Services Agreement (PPSA).
Expanding financial diversification
While the majority of posts offer financial services and some have already implemented a diverse portfolio on their own, many posts have focused on remittances alone. According to the UPU’s Global Panorama on Financial Inclusion 2023, of 116 posts surveyed, 82% offer domestic remittances and 77% offered international money transfers. In contrast, only half offer insurance, fewer than 50% offer savings accounts, and only a third offer e-wallets – but interest in offering these services has grown.
Member countries will have the opportunity to expand the scope of the PPSA to include UPU support on savings accounts, invoicing and payments, social and government payments, insurance, microfinance, e-wallets and other financial services at the upcoming Universal Postal Congress. Importantly, the proposed changes would give the UPU secretariat the mandate to help designated postal operators develop these services through capacity building and other initiatives.
Driving public-private partnerships
Building from the decision taken at the 2023 Extraordinary Congress to allow wider postal sector players (WPSPs) to connect to the UPU’s payments network and with a view to supporting the expansion of the PPSA, the Congress will also discuss how postal operators and other financial services providers can work together to diversify the postal financial services offering.
Representatives from Visa, UPI, AXA and CNP Assurances will gather during the Congress meetings on 12 September for roundtable discussions highlighting successful public-private partnership models for digital payment solutions and postal insurance.
The Congress will also serve as additional launch point for the UPU’s Postal Insurance Technical Assistance Facility (PITAF), an initiative developed in cooperation with AXA and CNP Assurances support postal operators in creating, expanding, or diversifying their inclusive insurance services.
Learn more about the 28th Universal Postal Congress here.