The countdown continues. The last days of postage stamps on registered mail.
April is the last month with postage stamps for registered mail. Starting May 1st, customers will be able to use a new solution for sending registered letters domestically and internationally. In the space previously reserved for a postage stamp, a new "R" label will be placed, displaying the amount due for the letter. Traditional postage stamps will remain in circulation as payment only for unregistered, or "regular," letters.
This solution will streamline shipping procedures and standardize payment methods for all registered mail. Registered letters will not have stamps attached, as, similarly to parcels and courier shipments, payment will be made in cash or by payment instrument. This process will expedite customer service at post offices. Customers simply need to complete the shipping confirmation and hand the mail over to a postal employee. The employee will affix the letter's payment confirmation to the R label.
Changes to the service regulations were introduced by Poczta Polska in May 2020. At that time, the company provided for an eight-month transition period, setting February 1, 2021 as the implementation date.
However, taking into account numerous requests from customers who purchased larger quantities of stamps and wanted to use them as payment for sending correspondence, the Company made the final decision to extend the deadline for implementing the change until May 1, 2021.
The solution will therefore come into force almost a year after the first announcement and repeated communication in the media.
Currently, registered letters constitute as much as one-third of the total mail volume handled by postal workers. It's worth noting that Poczta Polska has long offered the option of sending unstamped correspondence to contract customers, which undoubtedly streamlines the logistical process associated with preparing and sending such correspondence. Registered letters are registered at the dispatch and delivery stages. This means that customers receive confirmation of dispatch and can track their delivery in the tracking system.
Customers have two options for sending registered correspondence:
- priority – with the expected date of service completion on the next business day after the day of posting, provided that the letter is posted by 3:00 p.m.,
- economic – with an expected delivery date of 3 business days after the date of shipment.
Additionally, customers can use the option of acknowledging receipt in paper form or, for courts and other contractual customers, electronically.
Postage stamps remain the form of payment for sending unregistered letters.
Poczta Polska also publishes philatelic items for hobbyists from Poland and around the world, made available, among others, through subscriptions in the online store .
In the near future, the following stamps are planned to be issued: "Beneficial Insects", "European Athletics Team Championships Silesia 2021", "Silesian Uprisings".