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Jakarta Post

Weekly 5: Services provided at post offices

World Post Day fell on Oct

The Jakarta Post
Fri, October 24, 2014

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Weekly 5: Services provided at post offices

W

em>World Post Day fell on Oct. 9, although it was not widely celebrated because nowadays people can easily send text messages and emails to their loved ones. With the rapid development of technology, chatting applications are now available for free. Before the Internet existed, people would regularly visit post offices to send letters to their loved ones. Although the delivery of letters and packages remains state-owned postal firm PT Pos Indonesia'€™s main business, the company also provides other services to keep up with the times.

JP/DON

Buy stamps

To send a letter through the post office, one must always use a stamp or two, depending on where the letter is being sent. However, for collectors, stamps are not just a means of sending letters but also a part of history.

Regular stamps at post offices are sold for a modest Rp 2,500 (20 US cents) to Rp 5,000. Such stamps usually bear images like an Indonesian hero or a scene in a traditional dance.

However, collectable stamps, sold at the Philately Office at Pasar Baru Post Office in Central Jakarta, can be worth between tens of thousands to a whopping billions of rupiah.

'€œStamps that bear a picture of [former president] Sukarno are always a collector favorite,'€ said Dea Agnesia, an employee at the Pasar Baru Post Office.

Pay bills


Although many people pay their bills automatically using their debit cards, many also still pay their bills manually at the post office.

For example, the modest Palmerah Post Office in West Jakarta is often crowded with people queuing to pay their bills.

'€œYou can pay electricity and water bills at all post offices across the country,'€ Palmerah Post Office employee Suhardi said.

That'€™s not all; one can also pay taxes at the post office. Paying bills and taxes at the post office is quite convenient and post offices usually provide a special booth for such services.

'€œFor electricity bills we charge an additional Rp 1,800 administration fee and for water bills Rp 2,000. [Making] tax [payments] is free of charge,'€ Suhardi said.

Book train tickets

Train tickets can be purchased from various places, including post offices. Purchasing a ticket at the post office is not much different from convenience stores.

'€œWe just need your name and ID number and you can purchase an intercity train ticket,'€ Suhardi said.

He added that post offices charge an extra Rp 7,500 administration fee. The post office will give the customer a receipt, which must be exchanged at the train station later on.

'€œHowever, customers must purchase the tickets at least 40 days before their planned departure. Any later than that, customers must purchase their tickets from [other sources],'€ Suhardi said.

Money orders

Post offices provide money-order services, both from Pos Indonesia, named Weselpos '€” for domestic and international money orders to selected countries '€” and from Western Union.

For domestic Weselpos, post offices charge administration fees ranging from Rp 15,000 to Rp 55,000 based on the amount of money sent.

Meanwhile, post offices only send international Weselpos to 14 countries: Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, Brunei, Hong Kong, Philippines, South Korea, the United Arab Emirates, Austria, Brazil, Taiwan, Thailand, Qatar and Iran. Administration fees start from Rp 20,000 depending on the amount of money sent.

For Western Union services, post offices only accept a maximum of $US 2,000 in money transfers, with administration fees starting from Rp 112,500 depending on the amount of money sent.

Meanwhile, requesting money orders from post offices is free of charge.

Saving

PT Pos Indonesia currently has an ongoing partnership with state-owned lender Bank Tabungan Negara (BTN) for their joint product eBatara Pos.

Transactions can be made through tellers at selected post office branches. ATMs are also provided at selected branches.

Using eBatara Pos, customers can also take pension credit and make mortgage payments through the selected post offices.

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